Extreme heat adds to Korea's inflationary pressure SEOUL, August 10 (AJP) - South Korea’s prolonged heat wave is pushing up food prices, as extreme temperatures disrupt fresh food output and add volatile press pressure on top of energy costs. While the worst of last week’s near-40 C heat has eased, heat wave alerts remained in effect across most of the country Monday, with daytime highs forecast at 27 to 34 C and tropical nights continuing in many areas. Temperatures topped 40 C in some parts of the country as recen August 10, 2026

Super Junior's Yesung adds Seoul show as tour sells out SEOUL, August 10 (AJP) - Yesung of K-pop boy band Super Junior has added a third Seoul concert to his 10th anniversary solo tour after the first two shows sold out, his agency SM Entertainment said on Monday. The additional show as part of the Seoul leg of his tour is scheduled for Oct. 16, just ahead of the two already sold-out gigs scheduled for the following days. Tickets for the show will be sold through Ticketlink. Domestic presales through Super Junior's official fan cl August 10, 2026

UFS puts S. Korea's OPCON transfer push to the test SEOUL, August 10 (AJP) - South Korea and the United States will stage their annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise from Aug. 17 to 27 in what will double as a test of Seoul’s push to advance the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) even as questions remain over whether a Korean-led command is ready for the full demands of war. The Joint Chiefs of Staff and the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command announced the schedule during a joint briefing Monday, describing UF August 10, 2026

SK hynix emerges as a whale in Korea's thin debt waters SEOUL, August 10 (AJP) - SK hynix, a dominant force in South Korea’s stock market, is now looming large over its debt market as its AI-fueled cash bonanza gives the chipmaker the deep pockets to gobble up entire bond offerings. Market participants estimate its purchases of bonds and commercial paper this year at as much as 40 trillion won ($28.2 billion), with individual orders reportedly ranging from 100 billion won to 300 billion won. In some cases, SK hynix has taken e August 10, 2026

North Korea's Kimsuky builds local AI for cyberattacks SEOUL, August 10 (AJP) - North Korean hacking group Kimsuky has apparently built its own local large language model environment as it expands its use of artificial intelligence from creating phishing lures to extracting information and automating cyberattacks, a South Korean cybersecurity firm said Monday. Genians said its analysis found signs that the group had deployed local AI tools including Ollama, GPT4All and Msty, as well as retrieval-augmented generation, or RAG, technolog August 10, 2026

FSS warns overseas property funds can lead to total losses SEOUL, August 10 (AJP) — Investors in publicly offered overseas real estate funds can lose their entire principal, South Korea's financial watchdog warned, cautioning that the products are riskier than their property backing suggests. According to a report released by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) on Monday, along with a list of major dispute cases involving overseas real estate funds, to raise awareness of the risks such funds bear. Overseas funds typically bu August 10, 2026

K-pop boy band NCT's duo sub-unit wrap up 1st Asian tour SEOUL, August 10 (AJP) - K-pop boy band NCT's sub-unit JNJM, consisting of Jeno and Jaemin, wrapped up their first Asian tour with three sold-out concerts in Bangkok over the weekend, their agency SM Entertainment said on Monday. The concerts drew a total of 27,000 fans, bringing their tour to an end after 13 shows across six Asian cities including Bangkok, Jakarta, Kaohsiung, Macao, Seoul and Tokyo. The tour kicked off in Seoul in June. During the Bangkok finale, the two mem August 10, 2026

World-OKTA opens AI startup course ahead of Shenzhen finals SEOUL, August 10 (AJP) - The World Federation of Overseas Korean Traders Associations, known as World-OKTA, is recruiting participants for a four-day online course on agentic AI, the classroom stage of a startup competition that culminates in Shenzhen this autumn. The training runs from Aug. 18 to Aug. 21 on Zoom, Korea time, with applications closing Aug. 14. Eight modules trace a venture from idea discovery and customer research through problem-solution fit, business modeling, August 10, 2026

Chinese shipping line launches regular Arctic container service to Europe SEOUL, August 10 (AJP) - A Chinese shipping company is launching what is described as the first regular container service linking Asia and Europe via the Arctic, as melting sea ice and geopolitical risks along traditional shipping routes draw growing attention to the Northern Sea Route. Chinese carrier Sea Legend will begin operating a scheduled container service this week between Ningbo in eastern China and Felixstowe in the United Kingdom, the Financial Times reported Monday. T August 10, 2026

Cooler temps bring back the royal show A royal guard-changing ceremony takes place at Gyeongbokgung Palace in Jongno District, Seoul, on Aug. 10, as the prolonged heat wave eases following Ipchu, the traditional start of autumn. The ceremony, which had been suspended due to extreme heat, resumed on Aug. 8 after Seoul lifted its highest-level heat wave alert. August 10, 2026