Lee seeks advice from religious leaders over luncheon

SEOUL, July 9 (AJP) - President Lee Jae-myung met with religious leaders at the presidential office on Wednesday. Lee invited the leaders of South Korea's seven key religious orders including Buddhist monks, Catholic priests, Christian pastors, and others to a luncheon to seek their advice on state affairs and promote unity amid deepening social and political conflict. Expressing his concerns, Lee said, "The role of religious leaders is even more important, especially in

July 9, 2025

Korea looks to shipbuilding ties as strategic tool in tariff talks with US

SEOUL, July 09 (AJP) - As South Korea prepares for high-stakes tariff negotiations with the United States over the next three weeks, the country’s shipbuilding industry has emerged as a central element of Seoul’s diplomatic and strategic playbook. Government officials said Wednesday that cooperation in the shipbuilding sector is being positioned as more than just a bargaining chip in ongoing trade discussions. A senior official at the presidential office noted that

July 9, 2025

Korean instant noodle firms Samyang, Nongshim poised for strong earnings

SEOUL, July 09 (AJP) - South Korea’s leading instant noodle exporters, Samyang Foods and Nongshim, are expected to post robust second-quarter earnings, buoyed by growing overseas demand and a favorable currency rate. According to analyst consensus, Samyang Foods is projected to report 542.6 billion won ($395 million) in revenue for the April–June period, a 27.9 percent increase from the same period last year. Operating profit is forecast to rise 43 percent to 127.9

July 9, 2025

Trump's 200 percent drug tariff threat draws cautious response

SEOUL, July 9 (AJP) - South Korean pharmaceutical and biotech companies are preparing for potential U.S. tariffs on drug imports after President Donald Trump announced plans for sweeping trade measures that could impose duties of up to 200 percent. While the announcement has prompted firms like Celltrion and SK Biopharmaceuticals to activate contingency strategies, industry analysts say the broader impact on the Korean pharmaceutical sector is likely to be modest — at least fo

July 9, 2025

North Korean hacker slapped with US sanctions over cyber scam

SEOUL, July 9 (AJP) - A North Korean hacker, accused of being involved in a scheme for illegal cyber activities, was slapped with sanctions along with several Russian firms, the U.S. Department of the Treasury said Monday. The department said it sanctioned Song Kum-hyok, linked to a hacking group run by the North's Reconnaissance General Bureau, known as Andariel, for facilitating North Korean IT workers to find remote jobs overseas with "falsified identities and nationalit

July 9, 2025

Foreign language media association celebrates 10 years of connecting South Korea with the world

SEOUL, July 09 (AJP) - The Foreign Language Newspaper Association of Korea marked its 10th anniversary on July 8 with a ceremony at the Korea Press Center in central Seoul. Lawmakers, diplomats, media executives, and business leaders gathered to reflect on the press's evolving role in a time of global tension and rapid change. Established in 2015, the association brings together South Korea's major foreign-language news outlets. Over the past decade, it has helped deliver

July 9, 2025

North Korea to offer AI-related courses at universities

SEOUL, July 9 (AJP) - North Korea is expected to embrace new technologies with universities likely to offer courses related to artificial intelligence (AI). The move was part of an educational reform discussed at a recent two-day Workers' Party gathering which was held late last month and attended by leader Kim Jong-un, the state-run Rodong Sinmun reported on Wednesday. The daily further explained that universities have reorganized their study programs by consolidating depart

July 9, 2025

Korean agricultural machinery firms brace for 25 percent US import tariff

SEOUL, July 09 (AJP) - South Korea’s agricultural machinery industry is bracing for a major blow after the United States announced it would impose a 25 percent retaliatory tariff on all Korean imports beginning August 1, a move that threatens to disrupt one of the country's most export-reliant sectors. Among the hardest hit are leading tractor manufacturers Daedong and TYM, both of which derive a substantial portion of their revenue from the North American market. Dae

July 9, 2025

Power demand hits July record, prompting emergency measures

SEOUL, July 09 (AJP) - South Korea’s electricity demand surged to its highest level in three years this week, as an unusually early and intense heat wave swept across the country. National power consumption reached 93.4 gigawatts on Monday, surpassing the previous July record of 92.99 GW set in 2022. By Tuesday evening, the load climbed further to 95.7 GW, pushing electricity reserves below the critical 10 percent threshold for the first time this summer, according to data f

July 9, 2025

Trump claims South Korea pays 'very little' for USFK upkeep

SEOUL, July 9 (AJP) - U.S. President Donald Trump once again raised the issue Tuesday that South Korea is paying "very little" for the upkeep of maintaining some 28,500 U.S. troops here, arguing that it should pay for its own defense. "We rebuilt South Korea. We stayed there..... and they pay us very little for the military," Trump said during a cabinet meeting at the White House, while falsely claiming that 45,000 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea. "

July 9, 2025