Will Ripley

Senior International Correspondent

Will Ripley is an award-winning Senior International Correspondent for CNN, based in Taipei.
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CNN Digital Expansion 2019 - Will Ripley
CNN Digital Expansion 2019 - Will Ripley

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India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses his supporters during an election campaign rally in Pushkar on April 6, 2024, ahead of the country's upcoming general elections. (Photo by HIMANSHU SHARMA / AFP) (Photo by HIMANSHU SHARMA/AFP via Getty Images)
Himanshu Sharma/AFP/Getty Images
•Video 4:20
Popular but polarizing: Hear what Indians say about Modi 4:20
Apr 16, 2024
The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) building at the Central Taiwan Science Park in Taichung, Taiwan, on Friday, April 8, 2022. TSMC revenue rose to a record in the first quarter on demand for chips used in smartphones, computers and cars, while a prolonged shortage helped to boost prices. Photographer: I-Hwa Cheng/Bloomberg via Getty Images
I-Hwa Cheng/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Everyone wants the latest chips. That’s causing a huge headache for the world’s biggest supplier
Mar 23, 2024
Until just a few years ago, the world’s largest chipmaker had a simple answer to training new recruits — a buddy system that paired them up with senior engineers tasked with showing them the ropes.
This picture shows a general view of Kinmen, China.
John Mees/CNN
Tensions high in the waters off Taiwan islands visible from China’s shore. But for locals, life goes on
Mar 1, 2024
Two weeks after two Chinese fishermen drowned while being chased by Taiwan’s coast guard, tensions remain high in the waters around Kinmen, a group of outlying islands controlled by Taiwan but nestled just a stone’s throw from the shores of China.
This pool photograph distributed by Russian state owned agency Sputnik shows Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping shaking hands during a meeting in Beijing on October 18, 2023.
Sergei GUNEYEV/AFP/Getty Images
The dangerous parallels between Putin’s ambitions in Ukraine and Xi’s claims on Taiwan
Feb 27, 2024
Vladimir Putin justified his military aggression toward Ukraine, in part by invoking historical grievances and nationalism. His rationale echoes the narrative of Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Taiwan.
putin xi split
Getty Images
•Video 2:39
Xi takes a page from Putin as he vows to control Taiwan 2:39
Feb 23, 2024
CNN’s Will Ripley looks at how messaging from Chinese President Xi Jinping regarding Taiwan shares similarities with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s messaging about Ukraine.
nk russian tourists split ripley vpx
Ilya Voskresensky/Elena Bychkova
•Video 2:34
‘It’s surreal’: Russian tourist describes experience visiting North Korea 2:34
Feb 21, 2024
North Korea has opened its doors only to Russian tourists for the first time since the pandemic as Vladimir Putin deepens his ties with Kim Jong Un. CNN’s Will Ripley spoke with two of them.
AUSTIN, TX - SEPTEMBER 20: The Texas State Capitol is seen on the first day of the 87th Legislature's third special session on September 20, 2021 in Austin, Texas. Following a second special session that saw the passage of controversial voting and abortion laws, Texas lawmakers have convened at the Capitol for a third special session to address more of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott's conservative priorities which include redistricting, the distribution of federal COVID-19 relief funds, vaccine mandates and restrictions on how transgender student athletes can compete in sports. (Photo by Tamir Kalifa/Getty Images)
Tamir Kalifa/Getty Images
•Video 2:30
Chinese media seizes on US tensions to float false ‘civil war’ theories 2:30
Feb 8, 2024
CNN’s Will Ripley breaks down the Chinese media’s fixation on a false narrative that Texas may spur a civil war in the US.
kim jong un daughter cnn
Korean Central TV
•Video 2:18
Could a woman be next in line to rule North Korea? 2:18
Jan 30, 2024
North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un is bringing powerful women into his orbit. CNN’s Will Ripley explores his motivations.
3 nk teens punished
South and North Development Institute
•Video 2:45
Video appears to show North Korean teens being punished in front of crowd. Hear why 2:45
Jan 24, 2024
A South Korean research group has released rare footage that it claims shows North Korean teenagers being sentenced to hard labor for watching and distributing K-dramas. The video is believed to have been filmed during the Covid-19 pandemic. CNN has not independently verified the authenticity of the footage. CNN’s Will Ripley has the details.
screengrab kim jung un
KCTV
•Video 2:48
Leading American nuclear scientist has a warning about Kim Jong Un 2:48
Jan 19, 2024
A leading US nuclear scientist and North Korea observer is issuing a stark warning that Kim Jong Un could be prepared to wage a war. CNN’s Will Ripley has more.
screengrab taiwan election crowds
AFPTV / Reuters
•Video 3:36
‘Choice between peace and war’: Why the 2024 Taiwan presidential election matters 3:36
Jan 12, 2024
Taiwanese voters are headed to the polls to choose a new leader. The election is taking place under the shadow of an increasingly assertive China that has spent the past eight years ramping up its threats against the self-ruled island. CNN’s Will Ripley has more.
japan airline audio
CNN
•Video 3:16
Hear what newly released audio reveals about Japan plane crash 3:16
Jan 3, 2024
Newly released audio from air traffic controllers in Japan reveals officials cleared the passenger jet to land and instructed the Coast Guard plane to hold on the runway prior to the planes colliding.
video thumbnail ripley al maghazi strike pkg 2
AFPTV
•Video 4:03
Drone footage shows aftermath of one of the deadliest 24-hours in Gaza yet 4:03
Dec 26, 2023
CNN’s Will Ripley reports on the aftermath of an airstrike at the Al Maghazi refugee camp in Gaza as Israel intensifies its operations in the strip.
CNN's Senior International Correspondent Will Ripley's cat Nova.
Will Ripley/CNN
Opinion: What my cat taught me about life after Covid
Dec 26, 2023
When Will Ripley adopted his pet cat, Nova, during the pandemic, he never could have imagined the mental health boost from his furry companion.
Ripley Bethlehem SCREENGRAB
CNN
•Video 2:36
Christmas started in this town over 2,000 years ago. See what it’s like this year 2:36
Dec 25, 2023
The traditionally vibrant streets of Bethlehem, the biblical birthplace of Jesus Christ, have fallen silent on Christmas amid the war between Hamas and Israel. CNN’s Will Ripley reports.
A priest walks at the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023. World-famous Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem have been put on hold due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
Mahmoud Illean/AP
With war raging in Gaza, Christmas is effectively canceled in Bethlehem
Dec 24, 2023
Church bells echo through the labyrinth-like streets of Bethlehem. With Christmas approaching, the city in the Israeli-occupied West Bank should be teeming with visitors. But this year, it is almost deserted.

About

Will Ripley is an award-winning Senior International Correspondent for CNN, based in Taipei.

Ripley has led CNN’s recent coverage of Taiwan, securing an exclusive interview with President Tsai Ing-wen and reporting on the growing tensions between the island and Beijing.

He has also reported extensively on the ongoing economic crisis in Sri Lanka, securing an exclusive interview with the acting President Wickremesinghe in 2022.

Before moving to Taipei, Ripley was based in Hong Kong. He reported on some of the biggest stories from the region in recent years, including Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai, the Tokyo Olympics, the coronavirus pandemic, and the Hong Kong protests.

Before moving to Hong Kong, Ripley was CNN’s Tokyo-based correspondent. He reported on the devastating floods in Joso, the execution of two Japanese ISIS hostages, the deadly eruption of Mt. Ontake and the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster.

A journalist with over 21 years of experience, Ripley has travelled to North Korea 19 times since 2014 — more than any American TV correspondent. He has reported exclusively from Pyongyang after missile launches and nuclear tests and was the only American journalist in North Korea when U.S. prisoner Otto Warmbier was released just days before his death in 2017.

Prior to CNN, Ripley spent nearly 15 years working in newsrooms across the United States. He started as a student news reporter in Connecticut before heading to Missouri, Texas, and Colorado.

Throughout his career, Ripley has won numerous accolades including Best Single News Story at the Asian Academy Creative Awards in 2018 for his reporting on the destruction of the remote Punggye-ri nuclear test site in North Korea. He also received the award for Best Documentary at the Asian Academy Creative Awards for his exclusive CNN documentary Secret State: Inside North Korea.

Ripley has also been recognized with four Regional Edward R. Murrow awards and a Heartland Regional Emmy award. He was honored by the Texas Association of Broadcasters with the Steve Pieringer award for outstanding valor in news coverage.

Ripley grew up in Manchester, Connecticut and graduated from the School of Journalism at the University of Missouri-Columbia.