AJP joins World News Media Congress as AI takes center stage in Marseille SEOUL, May 31 (AJP) - Artificial intelligence has moved from a supporting theme to a central pillar of the global news industry's annual summit, as publishers, editors and media executives gather in southern France this week to navigate a rapidly changing information landscape. The 77th World News Media Congress, organized by the global news publishers association WAN-IFRA, opens Monday in Marseille, bringing together about 1,000 media leaders from more than 60 countries for thr May 31, 2026

South Korea eyes record $900 billion in exports, aims for top-five trade power SEOUL, May 31 (AJP) - South Korea is on course to ship about $900 billion in goods this year, a surge that would vault Asia's fourth-largest economy into the world's top five trading nations, the trade ministry said. According to data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources on Sunday, exports reached $709.3 billion last year, the sixth country ever to clear the $700 billion mark and a milestone hit just seven years after crossing $600 billion in 2018. Through Apri May 31, 2026

Seoul conveys concerns to Washington over Brunson's 'dagger' remarks SEOUL, May 30 (AJP) -South Korea has conveyed its position to Washington over U.S. Forces Korea Commander Gen. Xavier Brunson's controversial description of the Korean Peninsula as "the dagger in the heart of Asia," presidential officials said Saturday, after the remarks drew a diplomatic protest from China and reignited debate over the evolving role of the U.S.-South Korea alliance. National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac, the defense ministry and the foreign ministr May 30, 2026

Korea and Japan among hardest hit from Hormuz disruption SEOUL, May 30 (AJP) - South Korea and Japan have emerged as the biggest casualties of the disruption to Middle Eastern energy supplies following the U.S.-Iran conflict, with crude imports plunging as exports from the Gulf nearly halved amid months of turmoil around the Strait of Hormuz. Middle Eastern crude shipments between March and May are projected to fall 48 percent from a year earlier, according to shipping data compiled by Kpler and reported by Japan's Nikkei newspaper o May 30, 2026

BTS rides sold-out North American tour and AMA wins into Busan homecoming SEOUL, May 30 (AJP) -BTS is bringing home a winning streak. The group wrapped up the first North American leg of its "ARIRANG" world tour after drawing 840,000 fans to 15 sold-out stadium concerts, while collecting three trophies at the 2026 American Music Awards in Las Vegas, setting the stage for a highly anticipated homecoming concert in Busan next month. BigHit Music said Saturday that BTS attracted 840,000 concertgoers across five cities — Tampa, El Paso, Stanfo May 30, 2026

Hegseth touts South Korea as model ally as U.S. presses Asia on defense spending SEOUL, May 30 (AJP) -U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Saturday held up South Korea as a model ally for taking greater responsibility for its own defense, while urging Asian partners to sharply increase military spending and warning China against seeking regional hegemony. Speaking at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore, Hegseth said Washington was pursuing a "strong, quiet and clear" alliance strategy aimed at maintaining a stable balance of p May 30, 2026

South Korea's reckoning with the AI century There is a phrase South Koreans invoke with quiet pride: bbaly bbaly — "quickly, quickly." It describes a national temperament forged in crisis, the same urgency that rebuilt a war-ravaged nation into an industrial titan within a single generation. But urgency alone, as Kwon Seok-jun, a semiconductor scholar at Sungkyunkwan University, recently warned, will not be enough for what comes next. The artificial intelligence age demands not just speed, but vision. S May 30, 2026

Early vote surge clouds DP landslide hopes as Korea heads into June 3 local elections SEOUL, May 30 (AJP) - South Korea’s June 3 local elections are no longer looking like the ruling Democratic Party’s walkover, as record early voting and tightening battleground races raise the odds of a more contested outcome than President Lee Jae Myung’s party had expected. Early voting reached 12.11 percent as of 7 a.m. Saturday, with 5.41 million of 44.65 million eligible voters casting ballots, according to the National Election Commission. The figure was 1.45 May 30, 2026

South Korea to host first Korea-Africa foreign ministers' meeting SEOUL, May 30 (AJP) - South Korea will host its first standalone Korea-Africa Foreign Ministers' Meeting next week, bringing together representatives from 54 African countries and four regional organizations as Seoul seeks to deepen economic ties, diversify supply chains and strengthen cooperation on global challenges. The three-day gathering, scheduled for May 31 to June 2 in Seoul, comes as governments worldwide race to secure critical mineral supplies and build more resilie May 30, 2026

To young Jeju islanders, life does not give tangerines SEOUL, May 29 (AJP) - "Jeju's wind is harsh, but people learn to bend instead of break." The line from the hit Netflix drama When Life Gives You Tangerines celebrates the resilience of people on South Korea's southern island. In reality, however, the wind has become harsh enough to drive many young Jeju residents away altogether. As Jeju recorded a second consecutive year of net population loss, young islanders told AJP that a lack of quality jobs, limited car May 29, 2026