Young Poong calls for extraordinary shareholders' meeting amid Korea Zinc control battle

SEOUL, October 28 (AJP) - Young Poong, the largest shareholder of Korea Zinc, and MBK Partners requested on Monday to hold an extraordinary shareholders' meeting amid a battle for management control over the world's largest zinc smelter. The two companies said they sent a document to the Korea Zinc board calling for the meeting to discuss the appointment of 12 outside directors and two non-executive directors, as well as the introduction of a new management system. Earlie

October 28, 2024

North Korea renews drone accusations against Seoul

SEOUL, October 28 (AJP) - North Korea reiterated its accusations against South Korea on Monday, claiming that the South had infiltrated its airspace with a drone incursion. According to Pyongyang's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), North Korean military found that the drone carrying propaganda leaflets, which crashed in Pyongyang earlier this month, took off from South Korea's westernmost island of Baeknyeong Island. It said its assessment came after analyzing the

October 28, 2024

Korea Zinc, Bain acquire 11.26% of company shares amid battle over control

SEOUL, October 28 (AJP) - Korea Zinc and U.S. investment firm Bain Capital have acquired a combined 11.26 percent of company shares through a tender offer in a battle over control of the world's largest smelter. In a regulatory filing Monday, Korea Zinc announced that it had secured 9.85 percent through a buyback program that closed on Wednesday, while Bain Capital acquired 1.41 percent. Korea Zinc Chairman Choi Yun-beom and Bain Capital aimed to acquire up to 17.5 percent an

October 28, 2024

Russia 'transporting North Korean troops' to battlefield

SEOUL, October 28 (AJP) - North Korean troops are expected to be deployed to the battlefield as early as this week. Russia is "transporting North Korean soldiers to the front lines via trucks," the Kyiv Independent reported last Sunday, citing a source from the Main Directorate of Intelligence . "Russian police officers on Oct. 27 stopped a Kamaz truck with civilian license plates on the Kursk-Voronezh highway," the Ukraine English-language online newspaper sa

October 28, 2024

OPINION: US presidential election remains very close

SEOUL, October 28 (AJP) - The United States presidential election will be held on Nov. 5. In analyst Nate Silver's aggregate of national polls, Democrat Kamala Harris leads Republican Donald Trump by 48.6–47.4, a gain for Trump since last Wednesday, when Harris led by 48.8–47.2. Harris' national lead peaked on Oct. 2, when she led by 49.4–45.9. The U.S. president isn't elected by the national popular vote, but by the Electoral College, in which each sta

October 28, 2024

Top security officials of South Korea, US, Japan discuss NK troop deployment to Russia

SEOUL, October 26 (AJP) - Top national security officials from South Korea, the United States, and Japan expressed deep concern on Saturday about North Korea's deployment of troops to Russia. In a trilateral meeting in Washington D.C., South Korean National Security Advisor Shin Won-sik, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, and Japanese National Security Advisor Takeo Akiba discussed the issue, along with other regional security matters. "The national securit

October 26, 2024

Veteran actress Kim Soo-mi dies at 75

SEOUL, October 25 (AJP) - Veteran actress Kim Soo-mi died of cardiac arrest on Friday. She was 75. According to police, Kim was found unconscious at her home by her son early in the morning and was rushed to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead upon arrival. Kim, who is known for her signature TV role as a warm-hearted rural grandmother, had been hospitalized several times since May this year. She was advised to rest for a while due to accumulated fatigue from her busy wo

October 25, 2024

VISUALS: Extreme sports festival kicks off at Gwanghwamun

SEOUL, October 25 (AJP) - The inaugural Seoul Extreme Sports Festival opened Friday at Gwanghwamun Square, featuring breaking, skateboarding and BMX competitions. The event features the Seoul International Breaking Battle (SIBB), where international b-boys, including Paris Olympics qualifiers from Ukraine and Belgium, compete against local performers in one-on-one battles. The festival, running through Saturday, also offers free skateboarding lessons and extreme sports experiences in a speci

October 25, 2024

South Korea, U.S. defense chiefs to hold talks in Washington

SEOUL, October 25 (AJP) - Defense officials from South Korea and the U.S. will gather for talks in Washington next week, the Ministry of National Defense here said on Friday. The annual Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) slated for next Wednesday at the Pentagon will be the first in-person meeting between South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun and his U.S. counterpart Lloyd Austin since Kim's appointment in early September. The main agenda of the meeting will be

October 25, 2024

North Korean troops in Russia are Moscow's 'business,' Putin says

SEOUL, October 25 (AJP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday tacitly admitted to North Korea's alleged troop deployment to Russia to support its war in Ukraine, describing the matter as Moscow's "business." The Kremlin had previously dismissed reports of North Korean troop deployment as "fake news." When asked about satellite images showing North Korean troops' movements at the BRICS summit in Kazan, he said, "Images are a serious th

October 25, 2024