North Korea fires multiple short-range missiles ahead of APEC summit

SEOUL, October 22 (AJP) - North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles on Wednesday, according to military authorities here. The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the missiles around 8:10 a.m., which were launched from an area south of Pyongyang. They flew about 350 kilometers and likely landed in North Hamgyong Province, rather than in the East Sea as the JCS initially speculated. Wednesday's launch, the North's first missile provocation since

October 22, 2025

S&P upgrades LG Electronics' credit outlook, citing India IPO

SEOUL, October 22 (AJP) - Standard & Poor’s on Tuesday upgraded LG Electronics’ credit outlook to “BBB Positive” from “BBB Stable,” the company’s first improvement since October 2022. The ratings agency cited robust performances in LG’s home appliance and vehicle component businesses, stronger cash flow from its Indian initial public offering, and a rebound at its affiliate, LG Display. The move came months after Moody&rsquo

October 22, 2025

PHOTOS: Kazakhstan embassy marks Republic Day with strategic partnership dialogue in Seoul

SEOUL, October 21 (AJP) - The Embassy of Kazakhstan in Korea hosted a roundtable discussion in central Seoul on Tuesday under the theme "Kazakhstan and South Korea: Advancing the Enhanced Strategic Partnership." The event marked Kazakhstan's Republic Day and the 35th anniversary of its Declaration of State Sovereignty, highlighting the shared commitment to deepening bilateral ties.

October 21, 2025

INTERVIEW: Europe's largest Korean Cultural Center powers hallyu expansion in Budapest

SEOUL, October 21 (AJP) - One in every 200 Hungarians has joined a Korean cultural program in recent years — a sign that Budapest has become the beating heart of the Korean Wave in Central Europe, according to the head of the Korean Cultural Center in Budapest. "In the past three years, more than 51,000 people have taken part in the center’s programs — an impressive figure in a country of only 9.6 million, meaning roughly one in every 200 Hungarians has join

October 21, 2025

Seoul fears rise of new ultra-conservative government in Tokyo may bring out old skeletons

SEOUL, October 21 (AJP) - As Japan welcomes its first female state leader, Sanae Takaichi, elected Tuesday as the country’s 104th prime minister, Seoul is watching closely — wary that a rightward turn in Tokyo’s politics could rekindle old tensions. The 64-year-old conservative and head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) won 237 out of 465 votes in the lower house, comfortably surpassing the 233-seat majority threshold. Although the LDP holds 196 sea

October 21, 2025

Red-hot streak of Korean chip stocks spills over to downstream suppliers

SEOUL, October 21 (AJP) - South Korea’s semiconductor rally shows no sign of slowing, as record gains by memory giants ripple through the broader chip value chain, drawing in downstream suppliers and equipment makers amid growing concerns over a looming memory shortage in the AI era. Memory bellwethers Samsung Electronics and SK hynix both came close to symbolic six-digit milestones—100,000 won and 500,000 won, respectively. Samsung Electronics closed Tuesday 0.4 percent l

October 21, 2025

Samsung fields stronger in-house chip-powered Galaxy to counter AI iPhone hype

SEOUL, October 21 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics is equipping half of its upcoming Galaxy S26 lineup with its upgraded in-house processor, the Exynos 2600, to counter rising expectations for Apple’s AI-powered iPhone 17 series and to showcase renewed confidence in its AI chipset design and manufacturing capabilities. The tech giant said the new Exynos delivers more than six times the neural processing power of Apple’s latest A-series chip. The move marks the first time in

October 21, 2025

Asian markets rally, KOSPI the world's best performer led by chip boom

SEOUL, October 21 (AJP) - Major Asian stock markets closed mostly higher on Tuesday amid easing global trade tensions and improved investor sentiment, while South Korea’s benchmark index stood out as the world’s best performer of the month. In Seoul, the KOSPI closed at a fresh record of 3,814.69, up 1.76 percent from the previous session. The secondary KOSDAQ gained 1.89 percent to close at 875.77. Institutional investors drove the rally with strong buying despite conti

October 21, 2025

Reunification becomes a distant dream as living divided feels like the norm for South Koreans

SEOUL, October 21 (AJP) - "Our wish is reunification. Even in our dreams, we wish for reunification." For South Koreans who attended elementary school in the 1970s and 1980s, these lyrics are etched in memory — a childhood chorus once sung with conviction. But eight decades after the peninsula was divided in 1945 following liberation from Japanese rule, that wish has all but faded. A growing majority of South Koreans now regard reunification with the North as un

October 21, 2025

Korean defense firms join forces to boost KF-21 fighter jet exports

SEOUL, October 21 (AJP) - Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) said Tuesday it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Hanwha Aerospace, Hanwha Systems, and LIG Nex1 to strengthen the export competitiveness of the KF-21 fighter jet, the country’s 4.5-generation aircraft. Under the agreement, the companies will cooperate to reduce production costs, stabilize supply chains, and jointly market the aircraft overseas. The collaboration also includes sharing technology and mar

October 21, 2025