Suspect dead after shooting outside White House SEOUL, May 24 (AJP) - A suspect who allegedly opened fire near a security checkpoint outside the White House was shot and killed by U.S. Secret Service officers Saturday evening. The incident occurred at around 6 p.m. local time when an individual approached a checkpoint near the White House grounds and began firing at officers. Secret Service personnel returned fire, fatally wounding the suspect, who later died at a nearby hospital, according to multiple U.S. media reports. No S May 24, 2026

Trump says peace deal with Iran 'largely negotiated,' hinting at possible end to conflict SEOUL, May 24 (AJP) - U.S. President Donald Trump said Saturday that a peace agreement with Iran has been "largely negotiated," raising hopes of easing tensions in the Middle East. "Final aspects and details of the Deal are currently being discussed and will be announced shortly," he said in a post on his social media platform Truth Social. He added that the deal would include reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a critical maritime chokepoint through which roughly May 24, 2026

Trump weighs resuming strikes on Iran as talks hit deadlock SEOUL, May 23 (AJP) - U.S. President Donald Trump is considering a possible resumption of airstrikes on Iran, raising concerns that military confrontation between Washington and Tehran could return to the forefront after he canceled plans to attend his eldest son’s wedding and decided to remain in Washington. The move came as little progress has been made in negotiations since Washington delivered what U.S. media described as a “final offer” to Iran on May 20. Trum May 23, 2026

Trump immigration overhaul to rattle Korean Americans and wider Asian diaspora SEOUL, May 23 (AJP)-The Trump administration’s latest immigration crackdown is sending shockwaves through Korean American and broader Asian immigrant communities after the government announced that most foreigners seeking U.S. permanent residency will now have to leave the United States and apply for green cards from their home countries. The policy, unveiled Friday by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), effectively dismantles a decades-old practice known May 23, 2026

Stray Kids to headline new music festival 'STRAYCITY' in Latin America SEOUL, May 23 (AJP) - K-pop boy band Stray Kids will headline "STRAYCITY," a new music festival set to debut in Latin America this September, Live Nation and JYP Entertainment said Saturday. The festival will be held in three cities: Bogota, Colombia, on Sept. 9; Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Sept. 14; and Mexico City on Sept. 25. Stray Kids will headline all three editions. The lineup also includes JYP Entertainment’s seven-member rookie boy group NEXZ and local ar May 23, 2026

NPT talks collapse again over nuclear disputes involving N. Korea, Iran SEOUL, May 23 (AJP) - The 11th Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) ended Friday without adopting a consensus document, as member states failed to narrow differences over North Korea, Iran and nuclear disarmament. The four-week conference, held at the U.N. headquarters in New York, had been expected to produce a final document on strengthening the NPT regime. But negotiations broke down over regional nuclear threats and how to implement d May 23, 2026

ASIA DEEP INSIGHT: Global order axis to move again as Xi heads to Pyongyang Beijing in May 2026 was no ordinary capital city. It had become a vast reception chamber where the currents of global power intersected and collided — a strategic stage upon which the outlines of a new international order were being tested. Within days, U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Beijing in succession. European leaders intensified contacts with China. Middle Eastern rulers and Central Asian heads of state also gravitated towar May 23, 2026

North Korean football club's South visit unlikely to thaw inter-Korean ties: report SEOUL, May 23 (AJP) - North Korean women’s football club Naegohyang FC’s recent visit to South Korea is unlikely to lead to a broader thaw in inter-Korean relations, a South Korean state-run think tank said Friday. A recent report by the Institute for National Security Strategy said the visit should be viewed not as a signal of reconciliation but as “a limited form of contact between two states through an international sporting event,” according to researcher May 23, 2026

Samsung labor vote on wage deal tops 80% on second day amid bonus split SEOUL, May 23 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics union members voted for a second day on a tentative 2026 wage deal, with turnout exceeding 80 percent. According to industry sources, as of 6:40 p.m. Saturday, 46,185 of 57,290 eligible voters at the SGUU, Samsung Electronics’ largest union, had cast ballots, bringing turnout to 80.62 percent. At the National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU), the second-largest union, 6,502 of 8,187 eligible voters had participated as of the same ti May 23, 2026

U.S. flags chip tariffs in push on Korean memory makers to speed up US chip investments SEOUL, May 23 (AJP) -U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Friday that Washington is not planning immediate semiconductor tariffs but stressed that duties remain an important tool to rebuild domestic chip manufacturing, signaling continued pressure on Asian chipmakers including Samsung Electronics and SK hynix to expand production in the United States. Speaking at a memory chip expansion project by Micron Technology in Virginia, Greer said the Trump administration’s May 23, 2026