OPINION: Kim Jong-un sends North Korean troops to fight in Ukraine – here's what this means for war

SEOUL, October 23 (AJP) - It is still unclear how many North Korean soldiers will find their way onto the killing fields of eastern Ukraine. What is clear is that the drive to recruit fighting forces from North Korea is at least in part politically motivated. But is it also a tactical masterstroke that will boost the Russian war machine's chances of a definitive victory? The political aspect appears straightforward. The use of foreign forces from an enemy of the United States de

October 23, 2024

OPINION: Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar's death is defining moment, but it will not end war

SEOUL, October 22 (AJP) - The death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, one of the masterminds behind the group's horrific Oct. 7 2023 attack on southern Israel, is no doubt a consequential moment in Israel's year-long war against Hamas. But is it a turning point? Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sinwar's killing – long a major objective of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) – would signal the "beginning of the end" of the war. But he made c

October 22, 2024

OPINION: What does China want from next US president?

SEOUL, October 21 (AJP) - During a Taiwan National Day speech on Oct. 10, Taiwanese president Lai Ching-te said that Taipei was determined to defend Taiwan's sovereignty against "annexation and encroachment," and emphasized that "China has no right to represent Taiwan." China's response was swift. Less than a week after Lai's provocative speech, a record 153 Chinese war planes swarmed and surrounded Taiwan during a Chinese military exercise over 24 ho

October 21, 2024

OPINION: 'The Apprentice' released so close to polls, this Trump biopic is inevitably political

SEOUL, October 18 (AJP) - "The Apprentice" – a new film dramatizing Donald Trump's business career during the 1970s and 80s – is the latest in a presidential election full of controversy. The movie charts Trump's (Sebastian Stan) professional rise from an awkward nobody to hotshot real-estate tycoon. Trump's Pygmalion-like transformation is credited to his friendship with Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong). Cohn was an infamous prosecutor who worked with Sena

October 18, 2024

OPINION: This year's Nobel prize exposes economics' problem with colonialism

SEOUL, October 17 (AJP) - Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James Robinson have been awarded the 2024 Nobel memorial prize in economics for their influential work on how institutions shape economic development. Some would say the decision to award these scholars the Nobel was long overdue. The paper that formed the basis of their work is one of the most cited in economics. Acemoglu and Robinson’s subsequent book, Why Nations Fail, has also been hugely influential. These wor

October 17, 2024

OPINION: Moldova votes on whether to join EU as Russia intensifies vast disinformation campaign

SEOUL, October 16 (AJP) - Moldova is emerging as a major strategic battleground in a fierce competition between Russia and the west. A Kremlin-backed disinformation campaign has intensified over the last few months, in the run-up to Moldova's presidential elections. One of the key reasons for this is that a referendum on EU membership has been scheduled for the same day, Oct. 20. The challenges for this small country, wedged between Ukraine and Romania, are complex. Russia co

October 16, 2024

Translators share fond memories of working with Nobel winner Han Kang

SEOUL, October 15 (AJP) - Han Kang, the South Korean winner of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature, made her breakthrough in the English-speaking world with her first translated novel (her third in Korean), "The Vegetarian." Published in English in 2015, it was an immediate success, making the Evening Standard bestseller list. It went on to win the Man Booker international prize the following year for Han and her young English translator, Deborah Smith. In the summe

October 15, 2024

OPINION: AI was central to two of 2024's Nobel prize categories. It's sign of things to come

SEOUL, October 14 (AJP) - The 2024 Nobel Prizes in physics and chemistry have given us a glimpse of the future of science. Artificial intelligence (AI) was central to the discoveries honored by both awards. You have to wonder what Alfred Nobel, who founded the prizes, would think of it all. We are certain to see many more Nobel medals handed to researchers who made use of AI tools. As this happens, we may find the scientific methods honored by the Nobel committee depart from straigh

October 14, 2024

OPINION: Innovative South Korean novelist breaks new ground with Nobel Prize win

SEOUL, October 11 (AJP) - It's often the case that when poets write novels, they deliver arrestingly vivid and nimble prose. Han Kang's "The Vegetarian" (2007) is a case in point, and it is no doubt the work that was most influential in the Swedish Academy's decision to award her the Nobel prize in literature 2024. The committee stated that Han was awarded the prestigious prize because her "poetic and experimental style" has made her "an innovator i

October 11, 2024

OPINION: Google Deepmind founder shares Nobel prize in chemistry for AI that unlocks shape of proteins

SEOUL, October 10 (AJP) - The 2024 Nobel prize in chemistry has been awarded to three scientists for their work on describing and predicting proteins with the help of computers. One half of the prize goes to David Baker from the University of Washington in the U.S. "for computational protein design," with the other half jointly awarded to Demis Hassabis and John M. Jumper, both from Google Deepmind, U.K., "for protein structure prediction." Using computers to car

October 10, 2024