Hanwha Aerospace to supply 24 more K9 howitzers to Norway SEOUL, September 19 (AJP) - Hanwha Aerospace said Friday it has signed a new contract with Norway’s defense procurement agency to supply 24 additional K9 self-propelled howitzers. The company did not disclose the value of the deal, citing an agreement with the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency, known as NDMA. The signing ceremony was held on Sept. 18 in Oslo and attended by Hanwha’s chief executive, Son Jae-il, and Gro Jaere, director general of the NDMA. It is the third time Norway has purchased the K9, following orders for 24 howitzers in 2017 and four more in 2022. Hanwha said the Norwegian Army had praised the weapons system’s timely delivery, quality and battlefield performance. The new units will feature upgraded systems tailored to Norway’s requirements, including advanced communications. Hanwha will also provide a “customized solution” package, integrating the howitzers with Norway’s combat systems while offering training, maintenance and long-term logistical support. Hanwha said it expects the latest contract to bolster future sales in the Nordic region, where it is also promoting the Chunmoo multiple rocket launcher. 2025-09-19 13:57:45

Tourism Malaysia Seoul concludes successful roadshow event with Batik Air Malaysia SEOUL, September 19 (AJP) - The Tourism Malaysia Seoul on Thursday has wrapped up a four-day roadshow across Korea's key metropolitan hubs - Seoul Daejeon, Gwangju, and Busan - to showcase the attractions of Sabah, the northern Borneo state known for its natural beauty and cultural appeal. The promotional campaign co-sponsored by the Sabah Tourism Board and Batik Air Malaysia, is timed with the launch of the airliner's direct route between Incheon and Kota Kinabalu, one of Malaysia's popular resort destinations. 2025-09-19 11:48:08

North Korean leader inspects test of tactical drones SEOUL, September 19 (AJP) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspected a test of tactical drones and instructed enhancements to their operational capabilities, state media reported Friday. The test demonstrated the "excellent combat effectiveness of the Kumsong-series tactical attack drones," with Kim expressing his satisfaction with the test results, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. It is the first time that North Korean media has mentioned the "Kumsong" series, which appears to be new suicide drones equipped with artificial intelligence (AI)-integrated technology. According to KCNA, Kim also assessed the performance and combat readiness of multipurpose unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) including strategic and tactical reconnaissance drones, emphasizing the need to rapidly develop AI technology to boost production and expand their use in preparation for modern warfare, calling it the country's "top priority" in modernizing the country's military capabilities. Kim was accompanied by senior military official Ri Pyong-chol and other defense officials. 2025-09-19 11:23:47

Hyosung Heavy secures $150 million US power grid contract SEOUL, September 19 (AJP) - Hyosung Heavy Industries, a South Korean power equipment maker, said Friday it has secured a $150 million contract to supply ultra–high-voltage transformers and circuit breakers to a U.S. firm. The deal will provide a package of 765-kilovolt transformers, reactors and 800-kilovolt circuit breakers. It is the first time a Korean company has delivered a complete solution for America’s 765-kilovolt transmission network — the backbone of its long-distance power grid. The equipment will be deployed across large-scale projects in the South and East, regions expected to see electricity demand climb by as much as 25 percent over the next decade as data centers expand and electric vehicles gain traction. Utilities have increasingly turned to 765-kilovolt systems, the highest-capacity lines in the U.S., to move power efficiently over vast distances. Hyosung’s Memphis plant, built with $150 million of investment, is the only facility in the country capable of designing and producing 765-kilovolt transformers. Since the early 2010s, it has supplied nearly half of the units now operating in the U.S., giving the company a lead in a highly specialized market. An expansion project under way will double the plant’s production capacity by 2026. * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2025-09-19 11:11:21

Outgoing Japanese PM to 'hold talks with Lee' in Busan late this month SEOUL, September 19 (AJP) - Japan's outgoing Prime Minister Shigeru Ishida is considering a visit to South Korea to meet with President Lee Jae Myung later this month, according to multiple Japanese media outlets. Ishiba is expected to visit the southern port city of Busan from Sept. 30 to Oct. 1 for talks with Lee. The Japanese leader announced his intention to step down earlier this month, after less than a year in office, as he succumbed to mounting pressure from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party to take responsibility for a heavy election defeat in July and falling approval ratings. For his final overseas trip before leaving office, Ishiba decided to visit South Korea as part of shuttle diplomacy, in which the leaders of the two neighboring countries make regular reciprocal visits. Busan was reportedly proposed as a venue for talks after Lee suggested holding future meetings in provincial areas rather than Seoul to promote regional development during his summit with Ishiba in Tokyo late last month. 2025-09-19 10:19:41

Hyundai Motor CEO calls for Korea-US deal on auto tariffs SEOUL, September 19 (AJP) - Hyundai Motor’s chief executive warned that stalled U.S.-South Korea trade talks on auto tariffs are threatening the company’s competitiveness in its most important overseas market, even as rival Japan secured a more favorable deal with Washington. Speaking at Hyundai’s first overseas investor day in New York on Thursday (local time), Jose Munoz said the company’s current financial outlook assumes a 25 percent U.S. tariff on imported vehicles. “If reduced to 15 percent, we could maintain our current guidance,” he told analysts and institutional investors at the event, dubbed “2025 CEO Investor Day.” The remarks underscored Hyundai’s dependence on a tariff outcome that has grown more uncertain. In July, South Korea reached a preliminary deal with the United States to cut auto tariffs from 25 percent to 15 percent, but final negotiations have since stalled. Japan, by contrast, finalized its agreement with Washington earlier this month, with the lower 15 percent rate taking effect on Sept. 16. The shift has heightened pressure on Hyundai, which raised its 2025 revenue growth target to 5 to 6 percent but trimmed its operating profit margin goal to 6 to 7 percent, citing the financial drag of tariffs. Munoz also addressed a recent episode at Hyundai’s joint battery plant with LG Energy Solution in Georgia, where more than 300 South Korean workers were temporarily detained over visa issues. “Many of them were involved in advanced battery production,” he said, stressing the need for a “mutually beneficial resolution” to facilitate short-term technical staff exchanges. He noted that Hyundai has been part of American industry for four decades and has deep roots in Georgia, where its new battery and electric vehicle plant is the state’s largest economic development project. “We understand the stress faced by the detained workers and their families and are relieved they returned safely to Korea,” he added. Hyundai is investing 77.3 trillion won, or about $56 billion, over the next five years to weather challenges from softening electric vehicle demand and tariff uncertainty. By 2030, the company aims to sell 5.55 million vehicles worldwide, with 60 percent of them powered by electricity or hybrid technology. The New York event was the first time Hyundai convened investors outside South Korea, underscoring its ambition to position itself as a global leader in the transition to cleaner cars. * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2025-09-19 10:14:39

Hyundai Rotem opens first rail component plant in US SEOUL, September 19 (AJP) - South Korean rail manufacturer Hyundai Rotem has opened its first American production facility, a move aimed at aligning with Washington’s push to localize infrastructure supply chains. The 8,500-square-meter plant, called Hyundai Rotem Smart Electric America, officially opened on Wednesday (local time) in Riverside, east of Los Angeles, the company said Friday. Demand for rail infrastructure in Southern California is likely to surge ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and Paralympics, presenting a window of opportunity for new entrants. Hyundai Rotem, which has supplied trains to projects from Philadelphia to Los Angeles, is seeking to position itself as a reliable partner to U.S. transit authorities. The plant will manufacture and test propulsion control systems, traction motors and auxiliary power units — core components that power trains and manage their braking and electrical systems. “This is a crucial starting point for realizing our commitment to quality in the U.S.,” Lee Yong-bae, Hyundai Rotem’s chief executive, said at the opening ceremony. He added that the plant was expected to support job creation and local economic growth. The investment is also a strategic bet on the Trump administration’s “Buy America” rules, which require federally funded infrastructure projects to source a significant share of their materials and components domestically. For foreign suppliers like Hyundai Rotem, a U.S. manufacturing base is no longer optional but a prerequisite to compete for contracts. The Riverside plant will not only handle production but also provide maintenance support and training for American operators, a move the company hopes will strengthen ties with local communities and rail firms. * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2025-09-19 09:38:25

Rosé's catchy song amasses over 2 billion views on YouTube SEOUL, September 19 (AJP) - Rosé, a member of K-pop girl group BLACKPINK, continues to break records with her catchy song "APT." According to her management agency, the global hit, a collaboration with American pop star Bruno Mars, amassed over 2 billion views on YouTube in about a year after its release in October last year. With the latest feat, she now has another music video surpassing 2 billion views on the American streaming giant, adding to the quartet's previous hits like "DDU-DU DDU-DU" and "Kill This Love." Rosé's global recognition was further boosted as the song went viral worldwide, leading to her inclusion in TIME magazine's "100 Most Influential People" list and her win of the "Song of the Year" award at the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) in the U.S. earlier this month. Meanwhile, Rosé is currently on a world tour with her fellow BLACKPINK members, which began with concerts in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province in early July. 2025-09-19 09:06:09

INTERVIEW: Climate expert urges Seoul's new climate ministry to finalize NDC SEOUL, September 18 (AJP) - South Korea must commit to a long-term pathway to reduce carbon emissions now that it is set to launch a new ministry integrating energy, climate, and environmental functions, said a leading climate scientist. "The most urgent task for the ministry would be to finalize the 2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC)," said Axel Timmermann, director of the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) Center for Climate Physics at Pusan National University, in an interview with AJP. "The government must have eyes on the future and design long-term climate policy for the world children will face 20 to 30 years from now," he said. He welcomed the new government’s plan to reorganize the Environment Ministry as the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment, which would take over energy policymaking from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE). "When energy policy is under MOTIE, growth and industrial competitiveness are the main priorities. But if a ministry dedicated to climate and environment also manages energy, it can focus more on the next generation and long-term sustainability," he said, urging concrete implementation plans, including a carbon tax and carbon tax dividends. Timmermann, a world-renowned climate physicist who trained under 2021 Nobel Prize in Physics laureate Klaus Hasselmann, has headed the IBS Center for Climate Physics since 2017. The Institute for Basic Science (IBS) is Korea’s most prestigious national research institute dedicated to basic science, headquartered in the science hub city of Daejeon’s Sin-dong research complex. His team in Busan uses supercomputer models and cave-based climate records to study Earth’s variability and make long-term projections. In explaining the extreme heat wave this year, he pointed to the country’s dense urbanization. "A large share of South Korea’s population lives in metropolitan areas such as Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, and in these cities the so-called urban heat island effect—where concrete and asphalt trap heat and make cities hotter than surrounding rural areas—intensifies the impact of heat waves," Timmermann said. "Concrete surfaces block natural cooling from evaporation, while the lack of vegetation makes the heat feel even more severe." The summer was the hottest on record, with the mercury averaging 25.7 degrees Celsius between June and August, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). But Koreans should get used to the intense heat as a new norm, the scientist said. "There will be year-to-year variability, so some summers will be hotter and some cooler. But the long-term trend points to increasingly extreme summers," he added, calling for a joint inter-Korean response to common challenges from shared climate conditions. In his first year in Korea, he explored the possibility of joint research with North Korea, but abandoned the idea due to the complex approval procedures amid zero inter-Korean ties and sanctions related to Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs. The North has also been grappling with the fallout from extreme weather such as heat waves, droughts and floods. "I believe scientific cooperation across borders is essential and beneficial." "Science has no borders. When we think about the betterment and efficiency of scientific research, there’s every reason for greater collaboration with others," he added. 2025-09-18 17:59:09

Seoul opts for promotion-first and regulation-later approach on AI deployment SEOUL, September 18 (AJP) - South Korea has chosen a middle path between Europe’s strict rules and U.S.’s hands-off stance in global race to govern artificial intelligence. The Ministry of Science and ICT this week detailed the criteria for high-impact AI systems pertinent to the Act on the Development of Artificial Intelligence and Establishment of Trust" dubbed as the AI Basic Act due to take effect next January. Seoul will be the second jurisdiction after the European Union to set statutory guidelines for AI, though with an emphasis on promotion over regulation during the early stage of the technology. AI systems trained with cumulative computing power of 10^26 floating-point operations or more will be classified as high-impact — a threshold aligned with U.S. standards but looser than the EU’s 10^25 level. Companies deploying such systems will be required to adopt risk management plans, disclose training data and supervisors online, and provide users with clear advance notices through terms of service or interfaces. Additional measures include watermarking AI-generated content, labeling deepfakes in ways easily recognizable to users, and marking outputs from generative AI for both human and machine readability. While the act empowers regulators to impose penalties for noncompliance, the ministry indicated enforcement will be delayed. Fines are expected to be deferred for at least a year after the enactment. “Promotion takes priority over regulation,” said Kim Kyung-man, AI policy director at the ministry. “We don’t intend to impose stricter rules ahead of other countries.” The U.S. has taken a far looser approach, passing the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” in July to block state-level AI regulation for a decade. Europe, by contrast, set the global precedent when its AI Act came into force in August 2024, imposing strict transparency, accountability, and anti-discrimination requirements on companies. With its AI Basic Act, South Korea is seeking to balance light-touch regulation with global alignment as it pursues its ambition to become one of the world’s top three AI powers. 2025-09-18 17:48:21