Temporal variations of carbon monoxide (CO) were observed simultaneously at seven surface stations located in east Asia/western North Pacific from 24°N to 43°N during the East Asian Regional Experiment (EAREX) 2005 campaign in March 2005. Three major pollution events with enhanced CO levels were recorded around the same time at four stations over the East China Sea and at two northern stations of Japan. These pollution events were also observed 3–4 d later at Minamitorishima, located far from the Asian continent. A synoptic weather analysis showed that all of the major CO enhancements were brought about by the passages of cold fronts associated with the eastward migrating cyclonic development. The CO distribution simulated by a three‐dimensional transport model showed that the polluted air masses exported from the continent were trapped behind the cold fronts and then merged into elongated belts of enriched CO before spreading over the western North Pacific. Transport of regionally tagged CO tracer simulated by the model indicated that the Chinese and Korean emissions were the major contributors to the pollution over the East China Sea, while the Japanese emissions had impacts at relatively higher latitude regions during the campaign. The simulation results also showed that the CO enhancements detected at Minamitorishima were caused by a long‐range transport of pollution emissions from various regions in east Asia. The CO‐enriched plumes from Southeast Asia and south Asia emissions were found above the boundary layer in the frontal zone but not at the surface.