100 days of conflict in Middle East with no end in sight SEOUL, June 8 (AJP) - One hundred days in, the U.S. finds itself trapped in a conflict it didn't fully plan for and can't easily end. When American and Israeli warplanes struck Iran on Feb. 28, the operation seemed almost surgical in its ambition. Within hours, Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was dead, and confidence was running high in Washington. Many believed Iran might quickly unravel, much as Saddam Hussein's regime collapsed within weeks of the U.S. invasion June 8, 2026

US House panel passes defense bill provision barring foreign construction of Navy warships SEOUL, June 08 (AJP) - A U.S. House committee has approved a provision in the fiscal 2027 defense policy bill that would prohibit the Navy from using funds to build warships at foreign shipyards, a move that could complicate Washington’s recent push to tap allied shipbuilding capacity, including South Korean yards. Rep. Jared Golden, a Democrat from Maine, said in a press release on Friday that the House Armed Services Committee had adopted his amendment to the fiscal 2027 Nat June 8, 2026

Key highlights from Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's Seoul itinerary SEOUL, June 8 (AJP) - Nvidia's CEO Jensen Huang is in the final leg of his four-day visit to Seoul, which included meetings with business leaders, artificial intelligence (AI)-related startups and entrepreneurs, and researchers. His trip also featured a visit to T1 Base Camp, where he met T1 players including esports player Faker, as well as a television appearance and a ceremonial first pitch at a baseball stadium in Jamsil, southern Seoul. He also had another casual gatheri June 8, 2026

Lee vows to nurture super-gap growth engines beyond semiconductors SEOUL, June 08 (AJP) - South Korean President Lee Jae Myung marked his first year in office on Monday by unveiling plans to aggressively expand the country's economic focus, pledging to discover and nurture global super-gap growth engines beyond the semiconductor sector. Lee assumed the presidency on June 4 last year, following a snap election triggered by the December 2024 impeachment of his predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol, who had briefly declared emergency martial law. Lee frame June 8, 2026

Won hits 17-yr low at open, bonds extend losses SEOUL, June 8 (AJP) - The South Korean won fell to its weakest level at the start of trading on Monday, hitting a 17-year low as the currency was battered by expectations of a hawkish Fed and speculative offshore bets amid the prolonged conflict in the Middle East. The domestic debt market also suffered a severe rout, spreading intense volatility across broader financial markets. The won opened at 1,555.2 won per dollar, tumbling 16.1 won from the previous session. This marks the June 8, 2026

Aei Robot taps Nvidia tools to cut humanoid training costs SEOUL, June 08 (AJP) - South Korean humanoid robot developer Aei Robot announced it has reached a key milestone in bipedal robot development by harnessing Nvidia's motion-generation and inverse-kinematics tools, sharply lowering the cost of gathering the training data that machines need to learn human tasks. The announcement came as Aei Robot prepared to meet Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang later Monday, the final day of his four-day South Korea trip, during which the chip giant has cou June 8, 2026

Seoul, Tokyo hold first rescue drill in 9 years SEOUL, June 08 (AJP) - South Korea and Japan held a bilateral search and rescue exercise in international waters southeast of Jeju Island on Sunday, marking the first such drill between the two countries in nine years amid efforts to rebuild defense ties. The maritime exercise, known as SAREX, is designed to rehearse joint procedures for responding to maritime emergencies involving distressed vessels and was held for the first time since December 2017. The South Korean Navy deplo June 8, 2026

Nvidia, Doosan to collaborate on physical AI, data center infrastructure SEOUL, June 08 (AJP) - Nvidia and South Korea's Doosan Group announced they will expand their partnership across physical AI, robotics and AI factory infrastructure, the latest in a string of deals struck during CEO Jensen Huang's visit to Seoul. The collaboration spans four Doosan units — Doosan Robotics, Doosan Bobcat, Doosan Enerbility and Doosan Corporation Electro-Materials BG — pairing Nvidia's accelerated computing platforms with the conglomerate's June 8, 2026

Nvidia deepens South Korea push with Naver, SK hynix pacts SEOUL, June 08 (AJP) - Nvidia tightened its grip on South Korea's artificial intelligence buildout, unveiling parallel partnerships with Naver to construct a gigawatt-scale AI factory and with SK hynix to co-develop next-generation memory for its computing platforms. The dual announcements made Monday, timed to CEO Jensen Huang's visit to Seoul, underscore how the chip giant is weaving itself into the country's two pillars of the AI economy: hyperscale infrastructure and June 8, 2026

KOSPI crashes over 8% at open as US chip rout hits Seoul SEOUL, June 8 (AJP) - South Korea's benchmark KOSPI plunged 8.4 percent at the open Monday, shedding 683.1 points to 7,477.5 within the first minutes of trade, as a Friday rout in US semiconductor shares spilled into Seoul and dragged the index to its steepest opening drop in years. The decline was led by Samsung Electronics, which opened down 9.3 percent at 298,500 won (US$192.2), and SK Hynix, down 8.0 percent at 1,904,000 won. The two memory-chip giants account for a substant June 8, 2026