Seoul pitches AI partnership to ASEAN SEOUL, July 23 (AJP) - South Korea placed artificial intelligence at the center of its offer to Southeast Asia on Wednesday, unveiling a new initiative to help the region build AI ecosystems, train researchers and spread the technology safely, drawing on what Seoul calls its full-stack capability spanning chips, models and services. The pitch came as Foreign Minister Cho Hyun co-chaired the ASEAN Post-Ministerial Conference with the Republic of Korea in Manila, the 29th session July 23, 2026

MOFA presses US on immigration harm to Koreans SEOUL, July 22 (AJP) - South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has asked the United States to ensure Korean nationals do not suffer unintended harm from American immigration enforcement, raising the issue directly with a senior State Department official in Seoul on Tuesday, ten months after a Georgia factory raid that saw more than 300 Korean workers detained and flown home. Park Jong-han, Deputy Minister for Economic Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), reques July 22, 2026

UNESCO adopts heritage strategy for climate-hit island states SEOUL, July 22 (AJP) - UNESCO's World Heritage Committee adopted a new strategy on Tuesday to help small island nations protect cultural and natural heritage that climate change is steadily destroying, a group of countries that hold some of the planet's most distinctive sites but barely register on the World Heritage List, South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Wednesday. The scale of the gap is stark. The 39 small island developing states that have joined the July 22, 2026

Can a bigger World Cup keep its luster? SEOUL, July 22 (AJP) - The World Cup has never been just about football. It has been a global stage where countries show off their sporting power, shape their national image and increasingly compete for influence and economic gain. That is why FIFA's consideration of expanding the quadrennial tournament to 64 teams in 2030 has sparked a debate that goes far beyond simply adding more matches or making the event bigger. FIFA President Gianni Infantino has argued that a larger W July 22, 2026

Korea eyed as key partner to India's maritime vision: envoy SEOUL, July 21 (AJP) - South Korea is poised to become a key partner in India's drive to build a globally competitive shipbuilding industry, Seoul's ambassador to New Delhi said Tuesday, describing maritime cooperation as the next flagship project in bilateral economic ties. "We believe Korea will participate as an important partner in India's shipbuilding mission," Ambassador Lee Seong-ho said at a Seoul forum, adding that New Delhi has increasingly turned its July 21, 2026

Seoul assures oil supplies enough, but Houthi risk clouds Q4 SEOUL, July 21 (AJP) - Just as Asian economies had adapted to the disruption of the Strait of Hormuz by relying increasingly on Saudi Arabia's Red Sea exports, Yemen's Houthi militants are threatening the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, putting the region's alternative oil lifeline at risk and raising the prospect that the Middle East's two principal oil export corridors could be disrupted simultaneously. The new threat leaves major Asian importers, including South Korea, faci July 21, 2026

Reality check for Korea's Lee and Japan's Takaichi as their honeymoons end SEOUL, July 20 (AJP) - The chemistry between South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi appeared immediate, culminating in an impromptu drumming performance during their January summit in Nara. They also had much in common. Both took office as agents of change after periods of political turmoil. Both entered government with approval ratings that would be enviable in almost any mature democracy. Both benefited from weakened opposition camps and July 20, 2026

Türkiye's coup resisters carry wounds, no regrets SEOUL, July 20 (AJP) - Ten years after a faction of the Turkish military tried to seize power on the night of July 15, 2016, the civilians who poured into the streets to stop it still carry the marks of that night, in bone, in memory, and in the quiet routines of family life. Mehmet Emin Ertaş, a 47-year-old businessman, is missing the metatarsal bone in his right foot, taken by a bullet as he ran toward soldiers firing on the crowd. Elvan Alkılıç, a 36-year-old housewife, July 20, 2026

Prolonged US-Iran war may boost Korean missile defense exports: report SEOUL, July 20 (AJP) - A prolonged war between the United States and Iran could create fresh export opportunities for South Korea’s missile defense systems, as Gulf countries face shrinking interceptor stockpiles and sustained Iranian missile attacks, a South Korean brokerage said Monday. DS Investment & Securities said in a report that a ceasefire memorandum between Washington and Tehran had effectively collapsed after just three weeks, with both sides returning to high-i July 20, 2026

Ten years on, Türkiye's fallen answer roll call ANKARA, July 15 (AJP) - The name of a dead man rang out over a sunbaked park in Ankara on Wednesday, and thousands of voices answered for him. "Burada!" the crowd shouted. Here. Present. Another name followed, and another answer. It went on 253 times, once for each person killed on the night of July 15, 2016, when a faction of the Turkish military tried to seize the state and the public walked into gunfire to stop it. To a foreign ear, the word sounded uncannily like July 16, 2026