South Korea

India, South Korea deepen defence ties with new cooperation pacts

The two countries signed agreements on cyber defence, military training and UN peacekeeping cooperation during Rajnath Singh's visit to Seoul

Two supertankers exit Strait of Hormuz with 6 million barrels of crude oil

The ships are among a handful of supertankers exiting the Gulf this month via a transit route that Iran has ordered ships to use

Samsung faces major strike after wage talks with union fall apart

Management and union leaders at Samsung Electronics failed to reach a last-minute deal over wages Wednesday, raising prospects for a strike at the South Korean electronics giant that could rattle global semiconductor supplies and the country's trade-dependent economy. Government officials have threatened to invoke rarely used emergency powers to force a settlement at Samsung, where the union, which represents about 74,000 workers, says the company has failed to offer adequate compensation despite its soaring profits fuelled by the global boom in artificial intelligence. After the latest round of talks ended without a breakthrough on Wednesday, union leader Choi Seung-ho told reporters that unionized workers will begin an 18-day strike from Thursday. Both the union and the management held each other responsible for a failure to reach a deal. Choi accused management of refusing to accept a government-mediated proposal whose details he refused to disclose. Management accused the union

Rajnath Singh begins Vietnam, South Korea visit to boost defence ties

Defence Minister said his discussions during the visit would focus on expanding defence ties and enhancing regional cooperation

South Korean startup trains humanoid robots using human workers' skills

His head, chest and hands strapped with body cameras, David Park deftly folded a banquet napkin the way he has thousands of times during his nine years at the five-star Lotte Hotel Seoul. Each of his motions is fed into a database that will one day teach a robot to do the same. The hotel chain is one of many companies South Korean artificial-intelligence startup RLWRLD (pronounced "real world") is working with to create an extensive library of human expertise, harvested from skilled workers across industries, to develop AI brains for robots that could be coming to industrial sites and homes. It collects similar data from logistics workers at CJ, capturing how they grip, lift and handle goods in warehouses, and from staff at a Japanese convenience store chain Lawson, tracking how they organise food displays. The goal is to build an AI software layer that can work in robots across a range of factories and other work sites in coming years, before potentially expanding into homes. ...

South Korea passes UK to become world's eighth-largest stock market

The total market capitalization of Korean-listed companies has surged more than 45 per cent this year to $4.04 trillion, while the UK's has climbed about 3 per cent to $3.99 trillion

Hyundai Q1 profit falls 31%, flags uncertainty from West Asia conflict

Its cautious outlook comes after the automaker said earlier this month that its exports to Europe and North Africa, which typically transit through the West Asia

How South Korea tie-up could help India reduce costly freight dependence

New framework with South Korea links shipyard capacity, technology and orders to India's push to reduce reliance on foreign carriers

Datanomics: India eyes South Korea agreement review as deficit widens

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung exchanged several MoUs, with both sides agreeing to deepen cooperation in strategic sectors, including shipbuilding

India to build Korea industrial township, push for balanced trade: Goyal

Goyal said the two sides have agreed to upgrade the India-Korea Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement on a "fast-track, mission mode" basis

South Korean Prez to seek big boost in economic ties in summit with PM Modi

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung is in India for a three-day visit, the first South Korean presidential state visit to the country in eight years

PM Modi, S Korean Prez set $50 bn trade target, announce futuristic ties

Following delegation-level talks, PM Modi and South Korean President Lee witnessed the exchange of several MoUs between India and South Korea, aimed at deepening bilateral cooperation

Japan, South Korea on high alert after North Korea fires multiple missiles

The Japanese government activated its top-tier crisis management protocols to ensure public safety and regional stability in the face of the renewed provocation

South Korean President Lee to make state visits to India and Vietnam

PM Modi and South Korea's Lee Jae Myung are due to hold a summit on April 20, with talks expected to cover cooperation in areas such as shipbuilding, artificial intelligence and defence

North Korea tests latest weapons, missiles as world focuses on Iran

KCNA said tests showed tactical ballistic missiles with cluster warheads could "reduce to ashes" targets spanning 6.5-7 hectares with high-density impact

North Korea fires missiles, rejects Seoul's hopes for warmer ties

North Korea fired several short-range ballistic missiles toward the sea Wednesday in its second launch event in two days, South Korea's military said, hours after a senior North Korean official released crude insults against Seoul's hopes for warmer relations. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missiles lifted off from North Korea's eastern coastal Wonsan area and flew about 240 kilometers (150 miles) each in a direction toward the North's eastern waters. It said South Korea maintains a readiness to repel any provocations by North Korea under a solid military alliance with the United States. Seoul later said North Korea fired an additional ballistic missile toward its eastern waters without giving further details. The South Korean military said it had also detected the launch of an unidentified projectile around North Korea's capital region Tuesday. It said South Korean and US intelligence authorities were analyzing details of Tuesday's launch. South Korean media reported

North Korea fires projectile after South Korean President's apology

The launch took place days after a North Korean statement conveyed leader Kim Jong Un's rare praise for Lee in response to his apology over the drones

French, South Korean leaders agree to work together on Strait of Hormuz

French President Emmanuel Macron and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung agreed on Friday to work together to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz and ease global economic uncertainties caused by the war in the Middle East. Their summit in Seoul came as US President Donald Trump slammed allies for not supporting the US and Israeli war against Iran. Macron was making his first visit to South Korea since taking office in 2017 as part of an Asian tour that already has taken him to Japan. Macron told Lee at the start of the meeting that the two countries can play a role in helping to stabilise the situation in the Middle East, including the Strait of Hormuz, according to South Korean media. At a joint televised briefing afterwards, Macron underscored the need for France and South Korea to cooperate to help reopen the strait and de-escalate Middle East animosities, while Lee said the two affirmed "their resolve to cooperate to secure the safe shipping route in the Strait of Hormuz." The tw

South Korea President seeks swift parliamentary nod for $17 bn energy plan

Lee highlighted that disruptions in global energy supply--particularly due to virtual blockades around the Strait of Hormuz have significantly pushed up fuel prices