Trade officials head to Washington again for follow-up talks

SEOUL, October 22 (AJP) - Senior government and trade officials headed back to Washington again on Wednesday, seeking to finalize prolonged tariff negotiations with the U.S. Trade Minister Kim Jung-kwan and presidential policy chief Kim Yong-beom, who returned from their U.S. trip earlier this week, are expected to meet their counterparts there for follow-up discussions, raising hopes that a breakthrough in the talks could be imminent. The two have already hinted that "pro

October 22, 2025

Reunification becomes a distant dream as living divided feels like the norm for South Koreans

SEOUL, October 21 (AJP) - "Our wish is reunification. Even in our dreams, we wish for reunification." For South Koreans who attended elementary school in the 1970s and 1980s, these lyrics are etched in memory — a childhood chorus once sung with conviction. But eight decades after the peninsula was divided in 1945 following liberation from Japanese rule, that wish has all but faded. A growing majority of South Koreans now regard reunification with the North as un

October 21, 2025

JCS chief inspects security and military readiness ahead of next week's APEC summit

SEOUL, October 21 (AJP) - The final inspection of key military installations and other security facilities was conducted on Tuesday in preparation for next week's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, which is set to take place in southern South Korea. Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Jin Young-seung flew over the East Sea in a P-8 patrol aircraft and inspected a Marine unit in Pohang, emphasizing military readiness ahead of the multilateral gathering, which

October 21, 2025

Kim Sei-young soars to 13th in women's golf rankings after ending five-year title drought last week

SEOUL, October 21 (AJP) - Golfer Kim Sei-young moved up eight spots to 13th in the Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings released on Monday. The sharp rise in rankings came after she won the BMW Ladies Championship, which concluded in Haenam, South Jeolla Province last week. The victory was her 13th career LPGA title and her first win since the Pelican Women's Championship in Florida in November 2020, ending a five-year drought. Kim has been impressive so far this season, f

October 21, 2025

Son Heung-min's first goal for LAFC nominated for 'MLS Goal of the Year'

SEOUL, October 21 (AJP) - Son Heung-min of Los Angeles FC has been nominated for Major League Soccer (MLS)'s "Goal of the Year" with a goal he scored in August. It was his first MLS goal after his record-breaking transfer to LAFC from Tottenham Hotspur in the English Premier League, where he had spent more than a decade as one of Spurs' key players. The goal came from a stunning free kick just six minutes into an away match against FC Dallas in Texas on Aug. 2

October 21, 2025

Remains of South Korean student tortured to death in Cambodia return home

SEOUL, October 21 (AJP) - The remains of a South Korean college student, who traveled to Cambodia after being lured by an online employment scam in August and was later found to have been tortured to death, were returned home on Tuesday. The cremated ashes of the student in his 20s, identified only by his surname Park, arrived on a Korean Air flight at Incheon International Airport at 8:04 a.m., about some 74 days after he was found dead on Aug. 8 in the Southeast Asian country.

October 21, 2025

Washington eases stance on upfront cash demand, trade minister says

SEOUL, October 21 (AJP) - Washington is no longer pressing for a lump-sum cash payment for Seoul's pledge of a major investment in the U.S., which was agreed to in return for lowering reciprocal tariffs from 25 percent to 15 percent, a South Korean trade chief said on Monday. Upon returning from his visit to the U.S., Trade Minister Kim Jung-kwan said the two sides had narrowed differences in the ongoing tariff-related talks including details on how to fulfill and finance the in

October 21, 2025

Cambodia scam networks and Korean deaths expose youth struggles at home

SEOUL, October 20 (AJP) - The murder of a South Korean student kidnapped for forced crime in Cambodia has shocked the nation — and exposed the hidden world of young Koreans trapped in Southeast Asia's online-scam networks. The body of a 22-year-old university student, surnamed Park, was found near Bokor Mountain in southern Cambodia in early August after his family received a ransom call. Cambodian police later arrested several Chinese nationals suspected of running the on

October 20, 2025

Two more rescued in Cambodia as about a dozen nabbed in online scams after crackdown

SEOUL, October 20 (AJP) - Two more South Koreans were rescued and about a dozen others reportedly involved in online job scams and phishing schemes were arrested in Cambodia, following a crackdown, Foreign Minister Cho Hyun told reporters during a press briefing in Seoul on Monday. According to Cho, they are expected to be repatriated this week, following last Saturday's deportation of more than 60 South Korean detainees allegedly involved in similar crimes in the Southeast As

October 20, 2025

Korea's winter street snacks evolve from local comforts to global favorites

SEOUL, October 20 (AJP) - Korean street food gyeran-ppang — literally “egg bread” — has joined the ranks of the French baguette and Montreal bagel on CNN’s list of “50 of the World’s Best Breads,” underscoring how globalized and inventive Korean street food has become. “There’s buried treasure within every loaf of gyeran-ppang,” CNN wrote. “Individually sized wheat breads with a whole egg baked inside are amon

October 20, 2025