6 h. ago North Korea prepares for Apec – with a ballistic missile launch

With the Apec summit in South Korea just days away, the nuclear-armed North fired a ballistic missile on Wednesday in an apparent bid to remind the world of its growing arsenal. The launch, occurring against the backdrop of deepening military ties between North Korea and Russia, has reignited fears of escalating provocations and their implications for global stability. Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff reported that the missile, presumed to be a Hwasong-11da-4.5, was launched from North Hwanghae...

Events

8 h. ago South Korea trade envoy seeks removal of China curbs on Hanwha Ocean's US units

South Korea trade envoy seeks removal of China curbs on Hanwha Ocean's US units  Reuters

Politics

9 h. ago Why South Korea’s Gen Z are falling prey to the scam gangs of Southeast Asia

A growing number of young South Koreans are vanishing into Southeast Asia’s criminal underworld, lured by the promise of high-paying jobs – only to end up trafficked, tortured or killed. Many, fleeing a stagnant labour market at home, are being deceived by transnational crime syndicates into running online scams and illegal gambling operations. Others join willingly in search of easy money. But all eventually find themselves exploited, victims of criminal enterprises that span the lawless border...

Events

12 h. ago Can Trump’s gut instinct win over Xi Jinping at Apec summit?

US President Donald Trump is expected to approach his coming summit with Xi Jinping by relying on personal chemistry and his “gut”, but his ability to charm the Chinese leader will be limited at best, analysts and former government officials in Washington said on Tuesday. The first meeting in six years between the heads of the world’s two largest economies is expected to take place shortly before the October 31-November 1 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in South Korea. Among the topics...

Politics

12 h. ago Can Donald Trump’s gut instinct win over Xi Jinping at Apec summit?

US President Donald Trump is expected to approach his coming summit with Xi Jinping by relying on personal chemistry and his “gut”, but his ability to charm the Chinese leader will be limited at best, analysts and former government officials in Washington said on Tuesday. The first meeting in six years between the heads of the world’s two largest economies is expected to take place shortly before the October 31-November 1 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in South Korea. Among the topics...

Politics

24 h. ago Chipmaker CXMT eyes US$42 billion Shanghai listing, sources say

Chinese memory chipmaker ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) plans an initial public offering (IPO) in Shanghai as soon as the first quarter of next year, eyeing a valuation of up to 300 billion yuan ($42.12 billion), according to two sources briefed on the matter. Founded in 2016 with government backing, CXMT leads China’s strategic push to build a foothold in a global DRAM market long dominated by companies from Japan, South Korea and the United States. China’s leading manufacturer of dynamic...

Economics

29 h. ago Singer Soyou denies intoxication after US flight ‘racial prejudice’ row

South Korean singer Soyou, 34, formerly of girl group Sistar, has denied online claims that she was drunk on a US flight where she said she experienced racial discrimination, clarifying that the incident stemmed from a language misunderstanding rather than alcohol consumption. In a social media post on Monday, Soyou said she only had “a small amount of alcohol served with a meal” at the airport lounge before boarding. “I was not intoxicated, and I boarded without any issue or restriction,” she...

Events

32 h. ago Chinese mum dies saving baby from South Korea fire caused by woman’s pest hunt

A woman in her 30s died after saving her two-month-old baby from a fire accidentally started by a neighbour attempting to kill a cockroach using a lighter and spray in Osan, South Korea’s Gyeonggi province, police said on Monday. According to Osan police station, the fire broke out around 5.35am on Monday in a mixed-use building where a woman in her 20s, identified only by her surname A, lived on the second floor. She tried to catch a cockroach by spraying flammable mist and igniting it with a...

Events

54 h. ago ‘An impossible dream’? South Korea wants to be among top 4 defence exporters

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung said on Monday that the country would devote a “larger-than-expected budget” in defence and aerospace research until 2030 as it sought to build the world’s fourth-largest defence industry. Lee was speaking at South Korea’s largest-ever arms fair, the Seoul International Aerospace & Defence Exhibition 2025, where companies showed off new unmanned and artificial intelligence-enhanced weapons from howitzers to suicide drones in pursuit of more global defence...

Politics

3 d. ago Flu’s spread across Asia prompts Hong Kong groups to join vaccination appeal

Medical organisations and politicians in Hong Kong, Macau and other parts of Asia have issued a joint appeal to take preventive steps against the spread of influenza across the continent, with a local expert calling on residents to get vaccinated early. Dr Mike Kwan Yat-wah, president of the Asian Society for Paediatric Infectious Diseases, said on Sunday that influenza was spreading not only in Hong Kong, but in countries such as Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and Singapore. “After the Covid-19...

Politics

3 d. ago Battery fire aboard Air China flight to South Korea forces emergency landing

An Air China flight from Hangzhou to Seoul was forced to make an emergency landing in Shanghai on Saturday after a lithium battery caught fire in the plane’s cabin. In a statement on social media, Air China confirmed the incident. “On October 18, on flight CA139 from Hangzhou to Incheon, a lithium battery in a passenger’s carry-on luggage stored in the overhead compartment spontaneously ignited,” the airline said. The crew handled the situation quickly, it added, and “to ensure flight safety”,...

Events

4 d. ago 64 South Korean ‘pig butchering’ suspects return home from Cambodia

Sixty-four South Koreans who had been detained in Cambodia for alleged involvement in cyberscam operations returned home Saturday. South Korea had sent a team to Cambodia on Wednesday to discuss cases of fake jobs and scam centres involved in kidnapping dozens of its nationals. “A total of 64 nationals just arrived at Incheon International Airport on a chartered flight,” a police official said. Seoul had said around 60 South Koreans had been detained by authorities in Cambodia over the alleged...

Politics

4 d. ago 64 South Korean cyber scam suspects repatriated from Cambodia

Sixty-four South Koreans who had been detained in Cambodia for alleged involvement in cyberscam operations returned home on Saturday and were under arrest, police said. South Korea had sent a team to Cambodia on Wednesday to discuss cases of fake jobs and scam centres involved in kidnapping dozens of its nationals. “A total of 64 nationals just arrived at Incheon International Airport on a chartered flight,” a police official said. Seoul had said around 60 South Koreans had been detained by...

Politics

4 d. ago Trump calls 157% China tariffs 'not sustainable' ahead of planned Xi meeting in South Korea

Trump calls 157% China tariffs 'not sustainable' ahead of planned Xi meeting in South Korea  Fox Business

Politics

4 d. ago Trump confirms Xi meeting, retreats on 100% tariffs: ‘not sustainable’

In a turnaround from the tough stance he took a week ago, US President Donald Trump said Friday that he planned to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea in two weeks and suggested that imposing an additional 100 per cent tariff on all Chinese goods appeared unworkable. But he also blamed China for the latest stand-off in trade talks. The mercurial president called into question his planned sit-down with Xi seven days ago and threatened the draconian tariff increase in addition to...

Politics

4 d. ago Outrage over celebrity revels at South Korean breast cancer event

A breast cancer awareness fundraiser by a South Korean high fashion magazine has come under fire for focusing too much on the celebrities and not on the cause itself. Photos and videos of celebrities such as BTS’ V and RM, Aespa’s Karina and Lovely Runner actor Byeon Woo-seok drinking and partying at W Korea’s “Love Your W 2025” breast cancer awareness campaign at the Four Seasons Hotel in Seoul’s Jongno district on Wednesday sparked criticism that the event looked more like a fashion party than...

Politics

5 d. ago Indonesia’s North Korea ties stoke worries in Seoul over jet tech leak

Indonesia’s renewed diplomatic engagement with North Korea has raised concerns in Seoul over the possible breach of sensitive technology related to the KF-21, a cutting-edge fighter jet jointly developed with the Southeast Asian nation. South Korean officials maintain that KF-21 data is protected under existing non-disclosure agreements with Jakarta. Still, critics point to Indonesia’s record on the joint project, including payment delays and leak scandals, which have undermined its...

Politics

5 d. ago Turbulent Japanese politics could slow progress with China, South Korea: analysts

Japan’s unstable political landscape is expected to cast doubt over its diplomatic commitments and could hinder progress in its trilateral summit with China and South Korea, analysts have observed. Uncertainties are mounting as the path to the Japanese premiership for recently elected Liberal Democratic Party leader Sanae Takaichi has been complicated by the abrupt exit of the LDP’s junior coalition partner, Komeito. Takaichi, aiming to be Japan’s first female prime minister, remains short of...

Politics

5 d. ago Kidnapped, trapped, forced to scam: inside Cambodia’s Chinese

Rows of grey buildings with thick iron bars line the streets of Sihanoukville, about 250km (155 miles) southwest of Phnom Penh. Near the city’s Chinatown stands Cambodia’s largest so-called yuanqu – a slang term in Chinese criminal circles meaning “scam compound”, derived from yuanqu, or industrial estate. Inside these complexes, online crimes such as voice phishing and romance scams are part of daily life. Young people from South Korea and other countries are kidnapped or lured by Chinese-run...

Events

5 d. ago Chinese sanctions on Hanwha's US shipbuilding units aim to 'coerce' South Korea, State Dept says

Chinese sanctions on Hanwha's US shipbuilding units aim to 'coerce' South Korea, State Dept says  Reuters

Politics