Page 4 - South Korea

Kim Jong Un recalls good memories with Trump, urges US to drop nuke terms

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un says he still has good memories of US President Donald Trump and urged Washington to drop its demand the North surrender its nukes as a precondition for resuming long-stalled diplomacy. Speaking to Pyongyang's rubber-stamp parliament on Sunday, Kim stressed that he has no intention of ever resuming dialogue with rival South Korea, a key U.S. ally that helped broker Kim's previous summits with Trump during the American president's first term, according to a speech published by state media on Monday. Kim suspended virtually all cooperation with the South following the collapse of his second summit with Trump in 2019 over disagreements about US-led sanctions against the North. Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have worsened in recent years as Kim has accelerated his weapons buildup and aligned with Russia over the war in Ukraine. Kim's comments came as South Korean President Lee Jae Myung prepares to depart for New York to attend the United Nations Genera

South Korea's LG Energy used visa workarounds for staff before US crackdown

Over 300 Koreans, including 250 LG staff and contractors, were detained at LG's car battery venture with Hyundai Motor, in the US Department of Homeland Security's biggest immigration raid ever

North Korean hackers used ChatGPT to help forge deepfake military ID

The group responsible for the attack, which researchers have dubbed Kimsuky, is a suspected North Korea-sponsored cyber-espionage unit previously linked to other spying efforts against South Korea

US, South Korea, Japan launch joint air, naval drills in show of strength

The United States, South Korea and Japan opened an air and naval exercise off a South Korean island Monday in their latest joint drill condemned by North Korea as a "reckless show of strength." The exercise called Freedom Edge is aimed at strengthening the countries' combined operational capabilities in the sea, air and cyberspace and is necessary to counter North Korea's growing nuclear and missile threats, South Korea's defence ministry said. The US Indo-Pacific Command said the exercise will include US Marine and Air Force aerial assets and feature enhanced ballistic-missile and air-defence drills, medical evacuations and maritime operations training, making it "the most advanced demonstration of trilateral defense cooperation to date." The exercise off South Korea's southern Jeju Island runs through Friday. The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un earlier condemned the drills in state media, saying they show the countries' confrontational stance toward the ...

Hyundai CEO says Georgia battery plant faces 2-3 month delay after raid

The plant, one of the major industrial sites that South Korean companies are currently building in the US, was slated to begin operations later this year

S Korean workers released after days of detention in Georgia return home

A plane carrying more than 300 South Korean workers released after days of detention in Georgia landed in South Korea on Friday. TV footage showed the charter plane, a Boeing 747-8i from Korean Air, landing in Incheon International Airport, just west of Seoul, on Friday. The footage later showed workers, some wearing masks, passing an arrival hall, with senior officials clapping hands. The South Korean Foreign Ministry asked media to blur the workers' faces in video and photos at the airport, citing requests by the workers who worried about their privacy. They were among about 475 people detained during the Sept. 4 immigration raid at a battery factory under construction on the campus of Hyundai's sprawling auto plant west of Savannah. The US release of video showing some Korean workers shackled with chains around their hands, ankles and waists has caused public outrage and a sense of betrayal in South Korea, a key US ally. South Korea later said it has a reached an agreement with

Television budgets fade, streaming holds firm, films steal spotlight

Asia's content spend to drop 2% to $15.8 billion in 2025 as streaming overtakes pay-TV: Media Partners Asia report

Firms may hesitate to invest in US without visa reforms: S Korean President

South Korea's president said Thursday that South Korean companies will likely hesitate to maintain or make direct investments in the United States if the US fails to improve its visa system for Korean workers. President Lee Jae Myung made the comments in a televised news conference while he spoke about the detention of more than 300 South Korean workers after the September 4 immigration raid at a battery factory under construction at Hyundai's sprawling auto plant in Georgia. Lee said the Korean workers are set to be brought home on Friday aboard a charter plane. South Korean and US officials are discussing a possible improvement to the US visa system, Lee said, adding that under the current system South Korean companies can't help hesitating a lot about making direct investments in the US. Whether the US establishes a visa system allowing South Korean companies to send skilled workers to work at industrial sites will have a major impact on future South Korean investments in the US

South Korean plane heads to US to bring workers detained during ICE raid

A South Korean charter plane left for the US on Wednesday to bring back Korean workers detained in an immigration raid in Georgia. A total of 475 workers, more than 300 of them South Koreans, were rounded up in the Sept 4 raid at the battery factory under construction at Hyundai's sprawling auto plant west of Savannah. Some were shown shackled with chains around their hands, ankles and waists in video released by US authorities. South Korea's government later said it reached an agreement with the US for the release of the workers. South Korean TV footage showed what it said was the charter plane taking off at Incheon International Airport, just west of Seoul, on Wednesday morning. The plane will return to South Korean with the detained workers on Thursday afternoon, media reports said. The workplace raid by the US Homeland Security agency was its largest yet as it pursues its mass deportation agenda. It targeted Georgia, where many large South Korean businesses operate and plan fut

US immigration raid disrupts construction at multiple Korean battery plants

LG Energy has issued an internal notice calling for the immediate return of all workers and contractors traveling in the US under a short-term visa waiver programme, commonly referred to as ESTA

S Korea to bring home 300 workers detained in Hyundai plant raid in Georgia

More than 300 South Korean workers detained following a massive immigration raid at a Hyundai plant in Georgia will be released and brought home, the South Korean government announced Sunday. Kang Hoon-sik, chief of staff for President Lee Jae Myung, said that South Korea and the US had finalised negotiations on the workers' release. He said South Korea plans to send a charter plane to bring the workers home as soon as remaining administrative steps are completed. Foreign Minister Cho Hyun is to leave for the US on Monday for talks related to the workers' releases, South Korean media reported. US immigration authorities said Friday they detained 475 people, most of them South Korean nationals, when hundreds of federal agents raided Hyundai's sprawling manufacturing site in Georgia where the Korean automaker makes electric vehicles. Agents focused on a plant that is still under construction at which Hyundai has partnered with LG Energy Solution to produce batteries that power EVs. C

Trump to visit South Korea in October, may hold talks with Xi: Report

S President and his top advisors are preparing for the gathering of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation trade ministers

Army carries out rescue operation for South Korean nationals in Ladakh

Following the rescue, the Army later confirmed through a Fire and Fury Corps X post that one of the mountaineers lost his life after the rescue operation

Tesla sees retail exodus in South Korea as investors turn to crypto

The exodus signaled waning enthusiasm among one of Tesla's most loyal global retail bases, whose buying sprees once amplified the stock's rallies

Southeast Asia factories gain momentum as Japan, South Korea face slowdown

In Indonesia, output and new orders increased for the first time in five months and production in Thailand rose at the fastest pace in 13 months, according to S&P Global data

South Korea exports stay solid on chip demand despite Trump tariffs

Overseas shipments gained 1.3 per cent in August from a year earlier, customs data showed Monday, following a 5.8 per cent increase in July

South Korea's former first lady, ex-PM indicted by special prosecutors

South Korea's former first lady Kim Keon Hee and former prime minister Han Duck-soo were indicted Friday in special investigations that followed the ousting of the former president for imposing martial law. The wife of jailed ex-president Yoon Suk Yeol was charged with violating financial market and political funding laws and receiving bribes, about two weeks after a court ordered her arrest. Han was charged with abetting Yoon's imposition of martial law imposition, which investigators say amount to a rebellion, and also falsifying and destroying official documents and lying under oath. Three special prosecutor investigations were launched under the government of liberal President Lee Jae Myung that targeted Yoon's presidency and the actions taken to impose martial law last December. Yoon's defence minister, military commanders and police officers have been arrested for their involvement in imposing martial law. Yoon was removed from office in April and rearrested last month over

Korean Air signs $50 billion deal to buy over 100 Boeing aircraft

Korean Air has announced a USD 50 billion deal to buy more than 100 Boeing aircraft and several spare engines and obtain engine maintenance for 20 years. The deal was formalised at a signing ceremony Monday in Washington as South Korean President Lee Jae Myung met with President Donald Trump. The deal includes USD 36.2 billion for 103 next-generation Boeing aircraft; USD 690 million for 19 spare engines from GE Aerospace and CFM International; and USD 13 billion for the 20-year engine maintenance service contract with GE Aerospace, Korean Air said in a statement. This deal is a strategic choice to strengthen Korean Air's partnership with the US aviation industry, the Korean Air statement said. This strategic investment in the US market will further strengthen the airline's operational capabilities and global competitiveness, and foster robust commercial ties that will drive sustained growth. It said the aircraft purchase order includes 20 Boeing 777-9s, 25 Boeing 787-10s, 50 Boein

Trump softens stance with South Korea's Lee after initial warning

President Donald Trump took to social media before meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Monday to threaten not to do business with Seoul because of a Purge or Revolution that he claimed was taking place in the country. But any prospect of a hostile Oval Office meeting evaporated after Lee heaped praise onto the US president lauding the decor, beseeching Trump to continue to help with Korean peace efforts and even suggesting a Trump Tower in North Korea. We've known each other and gotten along very well, Trump said. After running down the agenda for the summit, Trump added: It's a great honour to be with you and congratulations on your election. That was a big one, and we're with you 100 per cent. The cordial display showed how world leaders are taking notes from previous meetings between Trump and heads of state, who've largely chosen the route of praise and adulation rather than confrontation as they seek favourable trade terms and continued military aid from ...

Trump wants to meet North Korea's Kim this year, raises issues with South

Since Trump's January inauguration, Kim has ignored Trump's repeated calls to revive the direct diplomacy he pursued during his 2017-2021 term in office