Why Korea is turning to Brazil's C-390 as aging airlift fleet faces pressure SEOUL, July 28 (AJP) - South Korean President Lee Jae Myung wasted little time in Brazil tending to one of Seoul's key dense priorities. Upon arriving in Brasilia for a state visit, Lee headed straight to inspect a Brazilian-built C-390 Millennium military transport aircraft before holding summit talks with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The acquisition addresses two strategic objectives: replacing South Korea's aging tactical transport fleet while diversif July 28, 2026

South Korea to secure more naphtha supplies despite stable inventories SEOUL, July 28 (AJP) - Naphtha supplies in South Korea are expected to remain stable through August despite renewed tensions in the Middle East, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources said on Tuesday. At an emergency meeting at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in central Seoul, government officials and industry representatives assessed supplies for naphtha and petrochemical products and discussed contingency measures. The meeting came amid growing concerns that July 28, 2026

CXMT rise signals a new kind of challenge to Korea's memory giants SEOUL, July 28 (AJP) - China's first publicly traded memory chipmaker hardly poses an immediate threat to Samsung Electronics, SK hynix and Micron Technology at the technological frontier. But ChangXin Memory Technologies' (CXMT) record-breaking stock market debut suggests something potentially more disruptive: Beijing's familiar playbook of localizing production, achieving scale and then moving up the technology ladder may finally be reaching the last major semi July 28, 2026

US enlists South Korea, allies in 6G push to counter China SEOUL, July 28 (AJP) - The Trump administration launched a global partnership on sixth-generation wireless technology, rallying 25 governments including South Korea in a bid to shape the next era of telecommunications and blunt China's growing influence over the field. The initiative announced Monday (local time), dubbed the "Call to Action for 6G Leadership and Security," drew endorsements from major economies such as Japan, Britain, Germany and France, alongside Alba July 28, 2026

Hanwha, KAIST launch space talent program for young students SEOUL, July 28 (AJP) - Hanwha Group and KAIST have launched the fifth class of their youth space talent program, selecting 30 middle school students as South Korea seeks to nurture future talent for its growing space industry. The program, called “Space Pebbles,” began Saturday at Hanwha Building in Seoul, the company said Monday. The program is designed to identify and train promising first- and second-year middle school students from across the country. Hanwha selec July 28, 2026

Defense Ministry to rule out nuclear weapons in submarine bill SEOUL, July 28 (AJP) - South Korea plans to include a nuclear weapons ban in its proposed law on nuclear-powered submarines, government sources said Tuesday. The Ministry of National Defense is expected to soon issue a legislative notice for a bill tentatively titled the Special Act on the Acquisition, Operation and Safety Management of Nuclear-Powered Submarines. The move would mark the first time South Korea has written into domestic law a principle rejecting nuclear weapons de July 28, 2026

Naver sells $1 billion stake to Nvidia to fund $10 billion AI factory SEOUL, July 27 (AJP) — Naver said Monday it will sell $1 billion of new shares to Nvidia in a rare third-party capital increase, turning the AI chipmaker into one of the largest shareholders of South Korea's top platform operator as the partners push ahead with a $10 billion AI factory project announced in San Francisco. The Korean internet giant will issue 7.24 million new common shares at 204,500 won each, raising an estimated 1.48 trillion won ($1 billion) through it July 28, 2026

China's CXMT armed with $8.6 billion war chest to chase Korean DRAM giants SEOUL, July 27 (AJP) - China's spectacular stock market debut of memory chipmaker CXMT Corp. on Monday handed the country's DRAM champion an $8.6 billion war chest to accelerate its pursuit of South Korea's Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, highlighting Beijing's determination to build a self-sufficient semiconductor industry despite U.S. technology restrictions. Shares of CXMT, China's largest dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) producer, surged 465.9 percent July 27, 2026

SK hynix Q2 to show how much its all-in AI bet is paying off SEOUL, July 27 (AJP) - China's rising chip darling and IPO blockbuster CXMT may be catching up fast, while local archrival Samsung Electronics bristles at the comparison. But in the AI memory race, this year still belongs to SK hynix. The headline numbers may no longer surprise investors when SK hynix reports second-quarter earnings on Wednesday, even though operating profit is expected to nearly double its previous quarterly record and exceed the company's entire profit f July 27, 2026

Why Nvidia needs Korea as much as Korea needs Nvidia SEOUL, July 27 (AJP) - When Jensen Huang toured Seoul last month, Nvidia's chief executive said he had found a full five-layer AI cake in South Korea. Over the weekend, he stayed true to that discovery, emerging as both the biggest customer and investor in that cake. Nvidia placed itself at the center of South Korea's all-out AI push as Huang headlined the government-hosted AI summit in San Francisco before joining President Lee Jae Myung and Korea's business leaders for July 27, 2026