PHOTOS: Severe drought in Gangneung

SEOUL, September 04 (AJP) - Amid a severe drought, the city of Gangneung and its surrounding region in Gangwon Province have been forced to implement drastic water conservation measures. According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the Obong Reservoir, the primary water source for the area, has seen its water levels drop to critical lows. In response, the city has closed 47 public restrooms and suspended operations at three swimming pools. To combat the crisis, the gov

September 4, 2025

Kim Jong-un's appearance at Beijing parade with Xi and Putin draws US criticism

SEOUL, September 03 (AJP) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-un stood alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin at Beijing's "Victory Day" parade on Wednesday, a rare display that United States lawmaker Rep. Young Kim (R-Calif.) called "provocative," while drawing close attention in Seoul. The parade, held at Beijing's Tiananmen Square to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, showcased China's military p

September 3, 2025

[K-Pop] K-pop dominates Netflix and Billboard with 'Demon Hunters'

SEOUL, September 3 (AJP) - Netflix's animated film "KPop Demon Hunters" has become the global streaming giant's most-watched both film and show, while its main soundtrack topped Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart for a third consecutive week. According to Netflix's ranking website Tudum on Wednesday, the film logged 266 million cumulative views as of this week, overtaking the first season of "Squid Game" (265.2 million) and "Wednesday"

September 3, 2025

Marriages with foreigners rise in South Korea, even as overall unions decline

SEOUL, September 03 (AJP) - South Korea is seeing a growing share of marriages involving foreign nationals, even as overall marriage rates have nearly halved over the past three decades, according to new government data released Wednesday. Statistics Korea said that marriages with foreign spouses rose 54 percent from 13,500 in 1995 to 20,800 in 2024. Such unions accounted for 9.3 percent of all marriages last year, up from 3.4 percent three decades earlier. Both Korean men marr

September 3, 2025

Samsung's processor shows big leap, closing in on Qualcomm

SEOUL, September 03 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics’ next-generation Exynos processor has posted benchmark scores close to those of Qualcomm’s top chip, raising expectations that the company’s in-house silicon could return to its flagship smartphones next year. According to results released Wednesday by Geekbench and industry reports, the Exynos 2600 recorded a single-core score of 3,309 and a multi-core score of 11,256. Qualcomm’s upcoming Snapdragon 8 Elite sec

September 3, 2025

South Korea signals fresh push to join Asia-Pacific trade bloc

SEOUL, September 3 (AJP) - The South Korean government said on Wednesday that it would consider joining a sweeping Asia-Pacific trade pact, reviving long-dormant discussions as the country looks to diversify export markets amid heightened uncertainty over U.S. trade policy. The announcement came during an economic ministers’ meeting led by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Koo Yoon-cheol, where officials also outlined support measures for exporters hit by recent tarif

September 3, 2025

LG Energy Solution lands major battery deal with Mercedes-Benz

SEOUL, September 03 (AJP) - LG Energy Solution said Wednesday that it had signed a major supply agreement with Mercedes-Benz to provide electric vehicle batteries for the German automaker’s European and U.S. operations. The deal, disclosed in a regulatory filing, covers two contracts. In Europe, LG Energy Solution will deliver 32 gigawatt-hours of batteries from August 2028 through late 2035. In the United States, it will supply 75 gigawatt-hours beginning in July 2029 and c

September 3, 2025

Hyundai, Kia power Korean EV market to strong rebound

SEOUL, September 03 (AJP) - South Korea’s electric vehicle market is showing signs of revival this year, fueled by a wave of new models from Hyundai and Kia after several years of declining sales. From January through July, registrations of new electric vehicles reached 118,047, according to data released Wednesday by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The figure represents a 46.7 percent increase from the same period a year earlier and pushed cumulative

September 3, 2025

South Korea's economy rebounds on strong exports, consumer spending

SEOUL, September 3 (AJP) - South Korea’s economy returned to growth in the second quarter, lifted by a revival in consumer spending and a surge in exports, the central bank said Wednesday. Gross domestic product expanded 0.7 percent from the previous quarter, according to revised figures from the Bank of Korea. That was slightly higher than the 0.6 percent preliminary estimate issued in July and a reversal from the 0.2 percent contraction recorded in the first three months of

September 3, 2025

Gold prices soar on US rate cut expectations, geopolitical strains

SEOUL, September 03 (AJP) - Gold prices surged to fresh records on Tuesday (local time), fueled by mounting expectations of U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate cuts and heightened geopolitical uncertainty. Spot gold climbed to $3,530 an ounce on Sept. 2, topping the previous peak of $3,500 set in April. Futures contracts on the Commodity Exchange rose even higher, touching about $3,600 an ounce during the session. The rally comes as investors increasingly bet that the Fed will l

September 3, 2025