FM to attend G7 foreign ministers' meeting in France next week SEOUL, November 5 (AJP) - Foreign Minister Cho Hyun will visit France next week to attend a meeting of foreign ministers from the Group of Seven (G7), where participants are expected to discuss major global challenges including the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) and the prolonged conflict in the Middle East, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Thursday. At a press briefing in Seoul, ministry spokesperson Park Doo-soon said Cho will depart for Paris on Sunday November 5, 2026

Drones gain bigger role S. Korea amid North's battlefield advance SEOUL, November 05 (AJP) - Drones are moving higher up South Korea’s military priorities as lessons from Ukraine and the Middle East reshape its forces. A three-year-old drone command has shed its combat role to become a hub for technology and development, with reconnaissance and strike missions spreading across the armed services. The change goes beyond a new nameplate. The Defense Drone Headquarters will help identify what the military needs, test emerging technologies and b November 5, 2026

Kookmin AI model predicts chemical mixture behavior by ratio SEOUL, November 05 (AJP) - A research team at Kookmin University has developed an artificial intelligence model that predicts how a chemical mixture will behave based on the ratio of its ingredients. Until now, getting that answer has usually meant repeated lab testing. The model, called MEMo, gave more accurate predictions than existing methods for four of five physical properties when tested against more than 860,000 lab measurements, the university said Thursday. Joung Joon- November 5, 2026

Seoul retailers bring Christmas cheer early SEOUL, November 5 (AJP) - The exterior of Shinsegae Department Store's main store in central Seoul is set to light up with a giant Christmas display this week, kicking off its signature year-end holiday festivities. According to the retailer on Thursday, the large-scale media display will be unveiled on Friday and run daily from 5 p.m. until midnight through Jan. 31. Set to the music of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, recorded by a 60-member orchestra in Vienna, Austria November 5, 2026

'The Devil's Plan' breaks its own rules for all-star third season SEOUL, November 05 (AJP) - Netflix’s "The Devil’s Plan" is bringing experienced survival-show players into its third season and scrapping automatic elimination for contestants who lose all their Pieces, producers said Thursday. "The Devil’s Plan: Dead Again" will premiere on Netflix on Nov. 10. The 14-episode season will feature 16 players, including previous winners and veterans of some of Korea’s best-known survival shows. It will roll November 5, 2026

Nikke falls latest prey to cyberattacks on Korean entities SEOUL, November 05 (AJP) - Nikke is a shooter in which android heroines battle invading machines to save humanity. But their guns were of no use against the hackers who slipped through the game's PC launcher this fall, joining a cyberattack barrage hitting South Korean businesses and institutions from banks to universities. The PC launcher for "Goddess of Victory: Nikke," one of South Korea's biggest game exports, became a gateway for malicious software that could November 5, 2026

Qualcomm's AI shift could reshape Samsung chip ties SEOUL, November 05 (AJP) - Qualcomm is redefining itself beyond the phone chips that built its name, pursuing growth in AI data centers and autonomous vehicles in a shift that could give longtime customer Samsung Electronics a larger role as a supplier. The U.S. chipmaker’s processors power Samsung’s premium Galaxy phones. Its expansion into AI infrastructure could, in turn, create demand for Samsung’s memory chips — although any new supply arrangements rem November 5, 2026

Samsung backs Korea's scientific ambitions in AI era SEOUL, November 05 (AJP) - South Korea has yet to win a Nobel Prize in science whereas neighboring Japan has produced 23 science laureates since 2000, but the growing presence of artificial intelligence in human life may offer new opportunities for a breakthrough. Seoul National University professor Kim Jang-woo can be one candidate. He developed a computing architecture that shifts data movement and management tasks from central processing units to data processing units (DPUs) November 5, 2026

Timor-Leste President in Seoul for bilateral talks with Lee SEOUL, November 5 (AJP) - President Lee Jae Myung on Thursday welcomed Timor-Leste President José Ramos-Horta on his first official visit to South Korea this week, expressing hope that the two countries would expand cooperation. In a post on X, Lee expressed his pleasure at Ramos-Horta's visit, adding "Bem-vindu!," the Tetum word for "welcome." At Lee's invitation, Ramos-Horta is visiting Seoul from Wednesday through Saturday, marking the November 5, 2026

LG Chem Q3 profit falls 17% on petrochemical loss AJP Factbox: LG Chem Q3 2026 profit falls on petrochemical loss SEOUL, November 05 (AJP) - LG Chem posted a 17.4 percent drop in third-quarter operating profit on Thursday as its petrochemical business swung to a loss, offsetting higher earnings at battery unit LG Energy Solution. According to regulatory filings, the South Korean chemical and battery materials maker's operating profit fell to 561.2 billion won ($418 million) from 679.7 billion won a year earlier. Revenue r November 5, 2026