A day after the fire: Guryong Village in the aftermath Rain falls over Guryong Village, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on October 29, 2026, one day after the fire was extinguished. October 29, 2026

A day after the fire: Guryong Village in the aftermath Merchandise at a shop lies burned in Guryong Village, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on October 29, 2026, one day after the fire was extinguished. October 29, 2026

A day after the fire: Guryong Village in the aftermath Police tape blocking entry marks an ongoing fire investigation in Guryong Village, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on October 29, 2026, one day after the fire was extinguished. October 29, 2026

A day after the fire: Guryong Village in the aftermath Charred fragments of comic books lie on the ground in Guryong Village, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on October 29, 2026, one day after the fire was extinguished. October 29, 2026

A day after the fire: Guryong Village in the aftermath A vehicle lies completely burned out in Guryong Village, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on October 29, 2026, one day after the fire was extinguished. October 29, 2026

Hanwha Solutions stays profitable as chemicals turn red SEOUL, October 29 (AJP) - Hanwha Solutions swung to a third-quarter operating profit from a year-earlier loss on Thursday, as higher solar module sales in the United States outweighed a wider loss in its chemical business. The South Korean solar and chemical company posted an operating profit of 90.5 billion won ($67.7 million) for the July to September quarter, compared with a 7.4 billion won loss a year earlier, according to its preliminary earnings filing. Revenue rose 17.4 pe October 29, 2026

Pyongyang snubs Seoul's proposal for talks with missile launches SEOUL, October 29 (AJP) - North Korea fired more than 10 short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea on Thursday, marking its 17th ballistic missile launch of this year and its first in 17 days, according to military authorities here. The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the missiles being launched from Wonsan, Kangwon Province at around 12:30 p.m. South Korean and U.S. military authorities are conducting a detailed analysis of the missiles' flight distance October 29, 2026

South Korea builds SMRs for the world, none for itself SEOUL, October 29 (AJP) - South Korea won the world's first standard design approval for a small modular reactor (SMR) in 2012 and now forges reactor components for American developers, yet not one SMR runs on its soil. The government is moving to close that gap as artificial intelligence (A) drives up electricity demand. It named the safe development and demonstration of SMRs as one of three core nuclear policy goals at the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) Int October 29, 2026

UPDATE: SK Innovation Q3 profit hits record on oil, lubricant margins SEOUL, October 29 (AJP) - SK Innovation's third-quarter operating profit jumped 532.5 percent from a year earlier to a record 3.7 trillion won ($2.77 billion), the South Korean energy company said Thursday in its preliminary earnings. According to regulatory filings, the company's revenue rose 39.7 percent to 28.77 trillion won, while net profit came to 2.64 trillion won, swinging from a 94.3 billion won loss a year earlier. From the second quarter, operating profit rose October 29, 2026

Kazakhstan awards friendship order to Korean industry minister SEOUL, October 29 (AJP) - Kazakhstan has given one of its high state honors to South Korea's industry minister, an official who first worked on Kazakh energy projects as a corporate executive. Ambassador Asset Issenali presented the Order of Dostyk, Second Class, to Kim Jung-kwan, minister of trade, industry and resources, at a Republic Day reception at Lotte Hotel Seoul on Wednesday. He said he was conferring it on behalf of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev "in recognitio October 29, 2026