Lee regrets Kyiv breaking confidentiality over N. Korean POW transfer SEOUL, September 25 (AJP) -South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, still on a state visit to Mexico, expressed regret over Ukraine’s public disclosure of the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea and pushed back against opposition claims that his government had improperly concealed the sensitive operation. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed in his U.N. General Assembly speech that two North Korean soldiers captured while fighting for Russia h September 25, 2026

Xi brings pandas, not business deals as Trump rolls out red carpet SEOUL, September 25 (AJP) - Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived at the White House to one of the most elaborate welcomes Washington has staged for a foreign leader, but the pageantry produced few immediately visible breakthroughs on the economic and geopolitical disputes dividing the world's two largest economies. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump greeted Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan with a red carpet, military honors and a fighter-jet flyover before talks and September 25, 2026

Korea, Mexico seal investment pact overhaul, open oil supply-chain channel SEOUL, September 25 (AJP) - South Korea and Mexico agreed to deepen economic and supply-chain ties spanning oil, critical resources and investment while expanding cooperation into artificial intelligence, aerospace and defense, as President Lee Jae Myung and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum sought to give new momentum to relations between the two major manufacturing economies. The two leaders adopted a 2026–2030 Korea-Mexico Joint Action Plan during their summit at the Na September 25, 2026

K-beauty, BTS loom large over first Korean presidential visit to Mexico in 16 years SEOUL, September 24 (AJP) -K-beauty and BTS are set to loom large over President Lee Jae Myung's state visit to Mexico, as South Korea seeks to turn the enormous popularity of Korean culture into deeper business ties with Latin America's second-largest economy. Lee arrived in Mexico City Wednesday for the first state visit by a South Korean president in 16 years, with a summit with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum scheduled for Thursday. While electric vehicles, batt September 24, 2026

North Korea vows "irreversible" nuclear-state status SEOUL, September 24 (AJP) -North Korea vowed Thursday to keep its nuclear weapons “forever,” rejecting a renewed denuclearization push by South Korea, the United States and Japan as Seoul seeks to revive long-stalled dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang. Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui said Pyongyang's nuclear status was irreversible and would remain unchanged for “a hundred or a thousand years,” according to a statement carried by the state-run Korean September 24, 2026

Chip boom, job squeeze redraw Korea's Chuseok migration SEOUL, Sept. 24 (AJP) — South Korea is booming, with nominal gross domestic product growing at a pace unseen in decades, the stock market up nearly 70 percent and the Korean won about 6 percent stronger than at the end of 2025. But little of that buoyancy can be felt this Chuseok, with youth unemployment hovering near 7 percent as of July and inflation running at around 3 percent. Fewer Koreans are making the traditional journey home. More young adults are staying in Se September 24, 2026

Seoul does not deny Zelensky's claim 2 North Korean POWs sent to South Korea SEOUL, September 24 (AJP) -Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky disclosed at the United Nations that two North Korean soldiers captured while fighting for Russia have been transferred to South Korea, an announcement Seoul stopped short of confirming but did not deny. “Recently, we sent two North Korean prisoners of war to the Republic of Korea,” Zelensky said in his address to the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Wednesday. He gave no details on when or how the t September 24, 2026

Trump rolls out red carpet for Xi as U.S.-China trade truce extended SEOUL, September 24 (AJP) -U.S. President Donald Trump rolled out a rare red-carpet welcome for Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday as Beijing reciprocated with conciliatory language and the two sides extended their trade truce by two months, setting a cordial opening to a three-day state visit carrying a crowded agenda from trade and artificial intelligence to Taiwan and Iran. Trump and first lady Melania Trump flew by Marine One to Joint Base Andrews outside Washington t September 24, 2026

Lee, Trump push investment, shipbuilding ties in New York summit SEOUL, September 24 (AJP) -South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to deepen cooperation on strategic investment, shipbuilding and key security issues including nuclear-powered submarine fuel and wartime operational control during an impromptu meeting in New York, according to Cheong Wa Dae. The two leaders met for about 30 minutes from 7:20 p.m. Tuesday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, welcoming what they described as si September 24, 2026

Chuseok travel rush begins as holiday nears Homebound passengers wait for their train at Seoul Station ahead of the Chuseok holiday, September 23, 2026. September 23, 2026