A commando shows off his skills as he smashes bottles in a performance for children in Gyeryong City, South Korea. Thankfully, they were filled with water not beer.
From picture desk live: the best news images of the day
Photograph: EPA
The gargantuan size of Seoul, along with its numerous skyscrapers, creates an awe-inspiring view from the top of Namsan Tower. Mike Beech captures the intensity of this 24-hour city, home to half of South Korea’s population, but also its quieter moments, in this series of photographs
Photograph: Mike Beech
Happy new year?
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un saw in the new year with an unexpected broadcast seen as reaching out to incoming president south of the border.
Photograph: Kns/AFP/Getty Images
Han Jong Sim, the star of Comrade Kim Goes Flying, the first North Korean film to screen at the South Korean festival since 2003. The movie, about a young woman who runs off to join the circus as an acrobat, won the award for best director at the two-yearly Pyongyang international film festival last month.
A dance troupe from Russia’s far-eastern Khabarovsk region performs the Gangnam Style dance
Photograph: Kim Jae-Hwan/AFP/Getty Images
A selection of stories, photos, quotes, video and audio from guardian.co.uk, curated by James Walsh, Hannah Waldram, Carmen Fishwick and the Guardian's editorial team. We are also editors of the news tag.
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