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  OPINION: When lies go global, humanity must return to its oldest truths SEOUL, January 17 (AJP) - Humanity is living through a paradox of its own making. Never have we been more technologically advanced, more interconnected, or more capable of instant communication across borders. And yet never has truth felt so fragile, so easily displaced by falsehood, manipulation, and manufactured belief. Fake news, pseudo-religions, counterfeit journalism, and demagogic politics have fused into a single ecosystem of deception—one that now threatens not only demo January 17, 2026
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  OPINION: The weight of a death sentence, the lightness of martial law The prosecution’s request for the death penalty against former President Yoon Suk Yeol is not merely about the punishment of one individual. It is a question the Republic of Korea is asking of itself: What kind of country are we? How far have we come? And what lines must never be crossed? That a state of martial law could even be contemplated for political reasons in a mature democratic republic with per-capita income exceeding $30,000 already signals a breach of basic January 14, 2026
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  Much robotics hoopla at CES 2026 — too many bodies, too few brains SEOUL, January 13 (AJP) - At CES 2026, robots flew men off their feet with perfectly timed jabs, flipped through synchronized somersaults and danced with algorithmic confidence. Behind the curtain, those same robots swung wildly into empty air — punches landing nowhere, movements jittery, as if they'd had one cocktail too many before the bout. A human operator stood nearby, joystick hidden behind his back, fingers doing the real work. Welcome to CES 2026, where ph January 13, 2026
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  OPINION: Seoul needs a balance act between China and Japan with a practical approach President Lee Jae Myung is heading to Japan Tuesday for a two-day summit, a week after a state visit to China. His rapid back-and-forth diplomacy reflects intensifying friction between China and Japan, which has escalated since November after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested possible armed intervention “in a Taiwan contingency.” As the dispute grows, both countries are courting Seoul. During Lee’s China trip, Beijing rolled out a high-profi January 13, 2026
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  OPINION: The end of tariffs is not the end of risk The possible judicial dismantling of Donald Trump’s so-called “reciprocal tariffs” has been greeted by parts of the global market with cautious relief. The assumption is straightforward: fewer tariffs mean less friction, smoother trade flows and a calmer world economy. But that assumption risks mistaking the removal of a symbol for the resolution of a problem. Tariffs were never the core issue. Uncertainty was. Trump’s tariff policy, controversial as it January 12, 2026
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  OPINION: America First, rewired as Trump mixes tech with national security SEOUL, January 12 (AJP) - When the Donald Trump administration unveiled two national strategies in November and December 2025 — the AI-focused Genesis Mission and a new National Security Strategy (NSS) — I read them not as separate policy documents, but as a single statement of intent. Together, they recast “America First” and “Make America Great Again” for a technological age, fusing industrial policy, military power and economic coercion into a January 12, 2026
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  Scenes From the CES 2026: Rise of physical AI and rise testing Korea The artificial intelligence now has a ‘body,’ not just words The CES 2026 no longer felt like a stage for showcasing what technology might do. It looked more like a declaration that the technology is already operating inside real industries. At the center was “physical AI.” If generative AI handles language and images, physical AI drives robots, machines and vehicles. At this year’s show, the shift moved from promises to execution. One January 11, 2026
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  OPINION: Musk may be wrong on doctors — Seoul still needs to listen Elon Musk has a habit of compressing time. What most people describe as decades, he calls years. What institutions treat as distant futures, he presents as near inevitabilities. The result is often exaggeration. Occasionally, it is also illumination. Musk lately suggested that humanoid robots could surpass the world’s best human surgeons within three years. The remark, made on the Moonshots podcast hosted by physician and engineer Peter Diamandis, was quickly dismissed by January 11, 2026
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  OPINION: Maduro's fall: the arrival of warfare of algorithm In the early hours of Jan. 3, 2026, Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro was captured and taken away by U.S. special forces. At first glance, it looked like another dramatic military raid. In reality, it marked something far more consequential: the moment a dictator was hunted down, located and neutralized not primarily by soldiers, but by data. This was not just the fall of a regime figure. It was the execution of what I would call the world’s first &ldquo January 11, 2026
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  OPINION: Focus on Kazakhstan's agriculture and development of remote areas SEOUL, January 10 (AJP) - President Tokayev Meets with Mayors of Local Governments Last year, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev addressed a dialogue platform for rural akims (mayors), outlining his vision for the long-term development of remote areas. Kazakhstan’s Political Reforms: Evolution Instead of Shock Change President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is implementing a large-scale January 10, 2026