Hyundai Rotem, KAI team up to home-grow fighter jet SEOUL, August 13 (AJP) - Hyundai Rotem has agreed to team up with Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) to develop homegrown aviation weapons technology including a long-range air-to-air missile for the county's KF-21 fighter jet. Hyundai Rotem said Thursday it signed a memorandum of understanding with KAI the previous day at KAI's headquarters in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province, to combine its guided weapon and propulsion technologies with KAI's aircraft platform expert August 13, 2026

Seoul cuts red tape to fast-track mega AI projects SEOUL, August 13 (AJP) -South Korea has hit the accelerator on President Lee Jae Myung’s “chip-and-beyond” industrial drive, clearing land and construction rules holding up more than 4.2 trillion won in planned investment as Seoul races to get new semiconductor capacity in southern region running before his term ends in 2030. The package unveiled Thursday turns Lee’s call earlier this week for a “decisive battle” on industrial investment into a August 13, 2026

Naver invests in wave-powered ocean data center startup Panthalassa SEOUL, August 13 (AJP) - Naver announced it has invested in Panthalassa, a U.S. startup building floating, wave-powered artificial intelligence data centers, deepening its push to lock down next-generation infrastructure as the global scramble for computing power intensifies. The deal revealed Thursday extends a rapid buildout by Naver, which has been racing to secure AI capacity through a string of high-profile partnerships. In July, the company, Nvidia and Brookfield Asset Mana August 13, 2026

HD Hyundai chief set to meet Bill Gates in Seoul SEOUL, August 13 (AJP) - Bill Gates, founder and chairman of U.S. nuclear energy firm TerraPower, is set to meet HD Hyundai chairman Chung Ki-sun in Seoul this week to discuss ways to expand cooperation in small modular reactors (SMRs), according to industry sources on Thursday. Their meeting comes about seven months after they last met on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, in January. The Microsoft founder is also scheduled to meet with Prime August 13, 2026

Kairospace verifies satellite de-orbit device in space SEOUL, August 13 (AJP) - A South Korean startup announced it had successfully demonstrated a device designed to pull defunct satellites out of orbit faster, a modest but concrete step in the global effort to curb the growing hazard of space debris. Kairospace said Thursday that its in-house de-orbit system, dubbed DORB, had proven its performance aboard a CubeSat launched into space by South Korea's homegrown Nuri rocket, in what the company described as a full validation under August 13, 2026

Seoul plants 7 tech seeds for post-AI growth SEOUL, August 13 (AJP) -South Korea is placing seven long-term bets on technologies from small modular reactors and fusion power to quantum computing and brain-computer interfaces to secure new growth engines for the 2030s and beyond, as demographic decline and slowing investment threaten to deepen structural low growth. The government on Wednesday unveiled the seven SEED projects at Cheong Wa Dae on Wednesday, laying out development and commercialization targets spanning clean August 13, 2026

BTS' V, Jungkook disclose health concerns amid tour SEOUL, August 12 (AJP) - BTS members V and Jungkook opened up about health issues during the group's North American tour, giving fans a rare look at the physical strain they are managing on the road. The two spoke during a Weverse livestream Tuesday after BTS wrapped a concert in Baltimore, sitting down for a casual meal together while talking to fans. V said he had not previously told ARMY, the group's fandom, that he has been dealing with hearing problems for roughly August 12, 2026

Military academy alumni urge defense minister to reconsider three-school merger SEOUL, August 12 (AJP) - Alumni associations of South Korea’s Army, Navy and Air Force academies urged Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back on Wednesday to reconsider the government’s plan to merge the three service academies, with Ahn saying he would remain open to their concerns. Leaders of the three alumni associations met Ahn to raise concerns over the proposed integration and argue that the government’s reform goals could be achieved without merging the existing acad August 12, 2026

NCT 127 previews 'Piñata' with noir-style track video before KCON LA stage SEOUL, August 12 (AJP) - K-pop boy group NCT 127 gave fans an early listen to its upcoming seventh full-length album Tuesday, releasing a track video for "Piñata" ahead of the record's full release later this month, SM Entertainment said Wednesday. The video went up on NCT 127's official YouTube channel at 6 p.m. Tuesday. Rather than a straightforward performance clip, it casts the group as "fixers" in Seoul, following the members through a youth August 12, 2026

Seoul Performing Arts Festival to open with Han Kang adaptation, Avignon-linked works SEOUL, August 12 (AJP) - The Seoul Performing Arts Festival returns in October with a lineup led by a stage adaptation of Han Kang's "We Do Not Part," starring Isabelle Huppert and Lee Hye-young. Now in its 26th edition, SPAF runs Oct. 8-25 at venues across Seoul under the theme "Multiverse of Art." The festival is organized by the Korea Arts Management Service, with support from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Arts Council Korea. Thi August 12, 2026