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  Hanwha Aerospace diversifies into LNG trading with landmark Venture Global contract SEOUL, February 27 (AJP) - Hanwha Aerospace has secured a 20-year liquefied natural gas supply agreement with U.S. producer Venture Global, signaling a strategic expansion beyond its core defense and aerospace operations into global energy markets. Under the deal revealed Friday, Hanwha Aerospace will secure 1.5 million tons of LNG annually for 20 years starting in 2030, supplying the fuel to end users across Europe and Asia. The volume represents about 4.4 percent of South Korea February 27, 2026
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  North Korean leader visits family mausoleum with newly-elected party members SEOUL, February 27 (AJP) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited his family's mausoleum as soon as the country's key party congress wrapped up, state media reported on Friday. According to the state-run Korean Central News Agency, Kim paid his respects at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun where the embalmed bodies of the two Kim seniors lie in state, accompanied by key party officials and other members who were newly elected at the country's ninth party gathering February 27, 2026
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  Trump 'open to talk' with North Korean leader, White House says SEOUL, February 27 (AJP) - The U.S. "remains open to dialogue" with North Korea, the White House said on Thursday. Reaffirming that U.S. policy on North Korea remains unchanged, the White House said U.S. President Donald Trump is willing to speak with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un "without any preconditions," when asked by reporters about the possibility of talks. The comments came a day after Kim said Pyongyang has "no reason not to get along with the February 27, 2026
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  Love in the grey zone; how K-dating shows captured the world SEOUL, February 26 (AJP) – The island is fictional, the sand sun-bleached, the contestants impossibly polished. There is no king or queen of the jungle. No one makes grand declarations of love. Instead, they wrestle — sometimes almost literally — for a cup of iced Americano or a coveted night at a luxury hotel called "Paradise." Five seasons in, Single's Inferno has barely altered its rules. Contestants remain immaculate, well-educated, courteous t February 26, 2026
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  How 60-second micro-dramas are redefining screen culture SEOUL, February 26 (AJP) - Over the past two decades, researchers have found that the average time people remain focused on a single task has fallen from roughly 2.5 minutes to about 40 seconds. For a generation raised on scrolling rather than scheduled programming, sitting through a two-hour film can feel like a commitment. A drama told in one or two minutes, however, fits neatly into the rhythm of daily life. Micro-dramas — serialized stories delivered in 60 to 120 second February 26, 2026
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  Samsung joins $1 trillion club as AI rally ripples across Asia SEOUL, February 26 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics emerged as Asia's standout winner Thursday, joining the exclusive $1-trillion market-cap club as overnight Nvidia earnings sent the tech giant soaring 7 percent. The breakthrough came as AI enthusiasm — reignited by blockbuster earnings from Nvidia — swept across regional markets, propelling South Korea and Japan to fresh highs while China-related bourses lagged. The benchmark KOSPI jumped 3.7 percent, or 223.4 February 26, 2026
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  SK hynix, Sandisk launch joint effort to standardize 'HBF' memory for AI SEOUL, February 26 (AJP) - South Korean chipmaker SK hynix and U.S. data storage company Sandisk have partnered to standardize a next-generation memory technology dubbed High Bandwidth Flash (HBF) to target the expanding artificial intelligence inference market. The two companies held a kick-off event for the HBF standardization consortium on Thursday at Sandisk's headquarters in Milpitas, California. To advance the initiative, they will form a dedicated joint workstream under February 26, 2026
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  Galaxy S26: a phone with "nunchi" – and a price to match SEOUL, February 26 (AJP) - “Nunchi” is one of those Korean words that resists direct translation. It refers to a kind of social intuition — the ability to read the ambience, anticipate needs, and move before being asked. Those who lack it are considered daft; those who possess it are quick, nimble, perceptive. With the new Samsung Galaxy S26, Samsung Electronics is attempting to embed that instinct into hardware. After nearly three decades of phone-making, Samsu February 26, 2026
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  Samsung Electronics becomes first South Korean company to hit $1 trillion market cap SEOUL, February 26 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics has become the first South Korean company to reach a market capitalization of over US$1 trillion. As of Thursday's market close, Samsung Electronics' market value was tallied at $1.03 trillion. Only 13 companies worldwide have market caps of $1 trillion or more. The milestone lifted the electronics giant to No. 12 globally in terms of market value, surpassing supermarket chain Walmart and pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly. February 26, 2026
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  BTS Comeback D-23: V more than a pretty face Editor’s Note — As BTS prepares to return as a full seven-member act with a new album set for March 20 and an open-stage performance at Gwanghwamun on March 21, following a near four-year hiatus for rotational military service, AJP revisits the group’s 13-year trajectory. This series reexamines BTS’s history, music, performance identity and enduring appeal. The seventh installment traces the roots and growth of Jimin. SEOUL, February 26 (AJP) - As of 3:20 p.m February 26, 2026