Former North Korean figurehead dies at 97

SEOUL, November 4 (AJP) - North Korea's former perennial nominal head of state, Kim Yong-nam, has died at the age of 97, state media reported on Tuesday. The state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said leader Kim Jong-un, accompanied by premier Pak Tae-song and other top officials, visited a memorial altar in the small hours and expressed "deep condolences over his death." According to the KCNA, the nonagenarian, who had served under the hereditary dy

November 4, 2025

OPINION: Trump's 'beautiful' tariffs and waning trust in US power

SEOUL, November 04 (AJP) - U.S. President Donald Trump calls tariffs the “most beautiful word.” True to that conviction, he has wielded them like a hammer — striking friends and foes alike, unsettling global markets, and testing the limits of American diplomacy. He claims these hard-edged tactics have brought results: smoother negotiations with South Korea and Japan, a temporary truce with China, and what he boasts are eight global conflicts “resolved&rdq

November 4, 2025

South Korea's martial law crisis revisited at IBA by leading constitutional scholar

SEOUL, November 04 (AJP) - South Korea has successfully defended its democratic institutions in the face of its first declaration of martial law under a democratic government and a surge of disinformation that culminated in a presidential impeachment, a leading Korean constitutional scholar told a global legal audience. Sung Nak-in, former president of Seoul National University and one of Korea’s foremost constitutional experts, detailed the short-lived but deeply damaging

November 4, 2025

South Korea's crypto curbs push investors to foreign exchanges

SEOUL, November 04 (AJP) - The number of South Korean investors holding large sums in overseas cryptocurrency exchange accounts has more than doubled in a year, reflecting both the global market’s resurgence and growing frustration with South Korea’s restrictive trading environment. According to data from the National Tax Service, 2,320 South Koreans reported offshore crypto accounts exceeding 500 million won (about $360,000) by the end of last year — a two-f

November 4, 2025

Korea's HD Korea Shipbuilding posts milestone Q3 profit on brisk vessel sales

SEOUL, November 03 (AJP) - HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. on Monday reported its best-ever quarterly performance since adopting a holding-company structure, with operating profit more than doubling from a year earlier to surpass 1 trillion won ($733 million) for the first time. Operating profit jumped to 1.05 trillion won in the July–September period on revenue of 7.6 trillion won, up 21 percent on year. Net income surged nearly fourfold to 876.7 billion

November 3, 2025

Asian markets recover, KOSPI and Nikkei continue to test new highs

SEOUL, November 03 (AJP) - Asian stocks rebounded on Monday, with South Korea and Japan extending their record-setting rallies on expectations of stronger chip-sector earnings and upbeat corporate results. The benchmark KOSPI jumped 2.78 percent to a new closing high of 4,221.87. Retail investors drove the rally, purchasing 651.2 billion won ($456 million) worth of shares, followed by institutions with 443.2 billion won. Foreign investors sold about 795 billion won, taking profits

November 3, 2025

Korean brands still in hangover over Jensen Huang's Seoul evening binge

SEOUL, November 03 (AJP) - There was nothing casual about the tech boys' night-out in Seoul for "chimaek" — the beloved chicken-and-beer pairing — given the multi-trillion-dollar businesses they represent and the influence they wield over the global economy. The APEC week has officially ended, but the afterglow — and hangover — from Thursday's late-night binge among Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, and Hy

November 3, 2025

Roster unveiled ahead of football matches later this month

SEOUL, November 3 (AJP) - South Korea will have this year's final friendlies with Bolivia and Ghana later this month. The Korea Football Association on Monday unveiled the roster for the national team ahead of upcoming matches against Bolivia in Daejeon on Nov. 14 and Ghana in Seoul on Nov. 18. The roster includes regular call-ups who play for overseas clubs such as Son Heung-min of Los Angeles FC in Major League Soccer (MLS), Lee Jae-sung and Kim Min-jae of Bundesliga club

November 3, 2025

PHOTOS: 2025 Small Business Convention opens with craftsmanship and passion on display

SEOUL, October 31 (AJP) - The 2025 Korea Small Business Convention opened on October 31 at KINTEX in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. Now in its 20th year, the convention is South Korea’s largest annual event dedicated to small business owners, aimed at elevating their social and economic standing while fostering communication and unity within the community. Held under the theme "Small Businesses Opening Today, Connecting Tomorrow’s Korea," this year’s event ce

November 3, 2025

Kazakhstan goes all-in on AI in bid to emerge as regional leader

ASTANA, November 03 (AJP) - Soviet-era government buildings in Kazakhstan’s capital now hum with modern servers and fiber-optic cables as the Central Asian nation pushes to reposition itself as the region’s leading digital economy. The country of 20 million has already emerged as a GovTech leader, ranking 24th globally in the UN’s e-Government Development Index and 10th in online services. It is now doubling down with an expansive AI strategy built on supercomput

November 3, 2025