South Korea vs. North Korea: Why a war scenario defies conventional logic SEOUL, January 30 (AJP) - The two Koreas are de facto still at war, separated by the world’s most heavily fortified border. That reality has locked both states into an unusually intense and enduring investment in defense. South Korea has sought leverage through an alliance with the world’s dominant military power, the United States. North Korea, unable to fully rely even on like-minded partners such as China and Russia, has instead pursued deterrence through nuclear arma January 30, 2026

Turkish textile heritage exhibition opens at the Council of Europe SEOUL, January 29 (AJP) - The exhibition titled Fabrics Atlas of Türkiye, The Memory of Fabric officially opened yesterday at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France. Hosted by the Turkish Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the event is scheduled to run through January 30 to coincide with the assembly’s winter session. The exhibition is designed to introduce the international community to the long-standing weaving traditions of January 29, 2026

South Korea ranks fifth in military power — but the list tells only half the story SEOUL, January 29 (AJP) - South Korea, as U.S. President Donald Trump often puts it, is fully capable in conventional warfare — and its global ranking largely backs that claim. Strip away nuclear weapons, and North Korea is no match. According to the 2026 Military Strength Ranking released by U.S.-based Global Firepower (GFP), South Korea placed fifth out of 145 countries, behind only the U.S., Russia, China and India. North Korea ranked 31st. GFP aggregates more than 60 in January 29, 2026

U.S. Treasury chief: No trade deal with South Korea until National Assembly approves U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said there will be no trade agreement with South Korea until its National Assembly approves it. Bessent made the remarks in a CNBC interview on Tuesday local time when asked whether President Donald Trump was raising tariffs on South Korea because it had not approved a trade deal. His comments came as Trump has warned he could restore higher tariffs, citing delays in the National Assembly’s passage of a “special law on investment in the United Stat January 29, 2026

Wall Street Ends Mixed After Fed Holds Rates; S&P 500 Briefly Tops 7,000 The three major U.S. stock indexes finished mixed as the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady and investors waited for earnings from major Big Tech companies. Strength in technology and semiconductor shares pushed the S&P 500 above 7,000 for the first time intraday, though it later gave back gains. On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 12.19 points, or 0.02%, to 49,015.60. The S&P 500 slipped 0.57 points, or 0.01%, to 6,978.03. The Nasdaq composite gained 40.35 p January 29, 2026

Meta, Tesla Rise After Earnings While Microsoft Slides in After-Hours Trading U.S. megacap tech stocks known as the “Magnificent Seven” got their first earnings results of the season, and the market reaction split sharply. Meta Platforms and Tesla rose in after-hours trading after reporting results, while Microsoft fell. On Tuesday, Microsoft closed up 0.22% on the New York Stock Exchange, Tesla gained 0.13% and Meta slipped 0.63%. After the earnings releases, the moves reversed. As of 7:58 a.m. in South Korea, Meta was up 8.39% after hours and Tesla was up 1.66%, January 29, 2026

Fed holds key rate at 3.50%-3.75%, says inflation remains elevated The Federal Reserve on Tuesday held its benchmark interest rate at 3.50% to 3.75%. The decision followed the central bank’s first scheduled Federal Open Market Committee meeting of the year, which ran for two days. The Fed had cut rates three straight times — in September, October and December — by 0.25 percentage point each, but paused that easing streak. The move was widely seen as a bid to slow the pace of policy changes as concerns persist that President Donald Trump’s sweeping tari January 29, 2026

Fed Holds Key Rate at 3.50%-3.75%, Keeping U.S.-South Korea Gap at 1.25 Points On Jan. 28 local time, the Federal Reserve held its benchmark interest rate at 3.50% to 3.75%. The Fed said after its first regular Federal Open Market Committee meeting of the year that it decided to keep the rate unchanged. The decision keeps the interest-rate gap between South Korea (2.50%) and the United States at 1.25 percentage points, based on the upper end of the U.S. range.* This article has been translated by AI. January 29, 2026

Uzbekistan to retain trade protection rights during World Trade Organization accession SEOUL, January 28 (AJP) - Azizbek Urunov, the Special Representative of the President of Uzbekistan on World Trade Organization (WTO) issues, announced on January 26 that the country will maintain the right to protect specific economic sectors as it enters the final stages of its accession process. This measure is intended to support national industries facing temporary difficulties or pressure from imports while aligning with international trade rules. The move follows nearly a d January 28, 2026

Ecuador Protests After ICE Agents Try to Enter Consulate in Minneapolis U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents tried to enter Ecuador’s consulate in Minneapolis on Monday but left after consulate staff blocked them, according to The Washington Post. Ecuador’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it immediately submitted a letter of protest to the U.S. Embassy in Ecuador, demanding steps to ensure such an incident does not happen again at any Ecuadorian consulate in the United States. The ministry said the agents attempted to enter the building January 28, 2026