The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) announced Saturday it has asked Major League Baseball (MLB) to post the Korean league slugger Roh Si-hwan. Roh's KBO club, the Hanwha Eagles, asked the KBO earlier in the day to post Roh, and the Korean league office asked MLB to inform its 30 teams of Roh's availability. Under an agreement between the two leagues, once a KBO player is posted, any of the 30 MLB clubs can negotiate a deal with that player within a 30-day window. That negotiating period begins at 8 a.m. Eastern Time (ET) the day after MLB clubs are officially notified, and will close at 5 p.m. ET on the 30th day. Roh, 25, has been among the KBO's top sluggers in the past handful of years. A third overall pick by the Eagles in the 2018 draft, Roh made his KBO debut the following year. In 2023, Roh exploded for his then-career high 31 home runs and 101 RBIs in 131 games to finish as the runner-up in the regular-season MVP voting, after managing just six homers and 59 RBIs in 115 games the previous year. Two years later, Roh blasted 32 homers and matched his career high with 101 RBIs while p

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun met separately with his German and Polish counterparts on the sidelines of a Group of 20 (G20) meeting in Atlanta to discuss ways to enhance bilateral cooperation, his office said Saturday. Cho met with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul on Friday (U.S. time), expressing hope for deeper ties with the European nation in a wide range of areas, including defense, the economy and cutting-edge industries, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In response, Wadephul thanked Seoul's foreign ministry for successfully preparing for German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's recent visit to Korea and expressed hope for expanded cooperation in bilateral trade and investment. Cho also met with his Polish counterpart, Radoslaw Sikorski, and called for continued discussions on cooperation in areas such as defense and batteries as a follow-up to Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk's visit to Korea in April, the ministry said. Sikorski also requested Korea's attention and support for Warsaw's efforts to join the G20, with Cho proposing continued consultations on the matter.

Up to 125,000 people gathered in the bustling Hongdae district Saturday on Halloween, while around 30,000 gathered in Itaewon, the site of a deadly crowd crush in 2022, Seoul city data showed. According to real-time data provided by the Seoul metropolitan government, around 30,000 to 32,000 people were in the Itaewon area as of 10 p.m. The area remained "crowded," with visitors in their 20s accounting for 50.6 percent of the total. The crowd in the Hongdae district was estimated at between 120,000 and 125,000, with the area remaining "very crowded." Police earlier vowed to deploy around 7,800 personnel nationwide to manage crowds celebrating Halloween over the weekend, including at 14 key locations in Seoul. Some visitors in Itaewon were also seen laying flowers to pay tribute to the victims. On Oct. 29, 2022, 159 people were killed in the country's worst-ever crowd crush in Seoul's Itaewon nightlife district during the Halloween weekend.

Top executives from key Samsung affiliates met with Open AI's co-founder and CEO Sam Altman on Saturday and discussed future strategies for artificial intelligence (AI) transformation, Samsung said. The special session took place at a Samsung human resources center in Yongin, south of Seoul, as part of a series of leadership seminars designed to advance the company's drive for AI transition, Samsung officials said. The session focused on exchanging views on the future direction of AI technology and its potential applications, as well as business opportunities arising from related sectors. In particular, they discussed how AI will reshape a company's decision-making and operations, and the capabilities required of business leaders amid a rapidly changing corporate environment, according to Samsung. Altman highlighted that gaining a competitive edge does not hinge on simply adopting the AI technology, but on how to leverage it to move faster, make better products and get ahead of competitors. Around 50 Samsung executives from its tech, finance and bio units, including its crown jewel Samsun

MARKET RASEN, England — Karl Bushby has spent 28 years walking home, but as he approaches the finish Monday, it’s not clear he's ready for the audacious journey to end. Pushing a cart loaded with camping gear up a busy country road in northern England about 30 miles (50 kilometers) from the finish line, Bushby was uncertain of the future, anxious about the prospect of living in his mom’s basement and facing an identity crisis. “My purpose and reason for living is about to end,” he said. “It’s going to be difficult … trying to blend back into a society that you just don’t know anymore.” Bushby, 57, was just shy of 30 when he entered the unknown at the tip of South America on Nov. 1, 1998. Since then, he has walked 31,000 miles (50,000 kilometers) across four continents, navigated shifting ice over the Bering Strait and swam — a generous description of his technique — across the Caspian Sea and English Channel. He has battled almost every type of element and terrain imaginable through 30 foreign countries to get back to where he started half a lifetime ago. Swampy j

ATLANTA — Top diplomats from the Group of 20 largest world economies will wrap up two days of talks in Atlanta on Saturday without reaching consensus on several critical global security issues after divisions, notably over Russia's war with Ukraine, overshadowed the start of the meeting. As a result, the group will not release a joint communique but will rather rely on a chairman’s statement summarizing the talks, which Secretary of State Marco Rubio will release at the conclusion, according to diplomats who attended. Rubio, who opened the talks with an appeal for unity, had canceled the traditional group photo of the foreign ministers on Friday after European diplomats objected to the inclusion of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and threatened to boycott or walk out of the snapshot that often kicks off such gatherings. Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski, who was representing his country for the first time as a guest at a G20 meeting, said Friday he was not surprised by the failure to reach consensus. “We have wars going on, and we have participants in those wars aro

President Lee Jae Myung visited a southeastern province Saturday to inspect a government pilot program providing a monthly basic income to residents in depopulated rural towns. Lee shared details of his unannounced trip to North Gyeongsang Province in a social media post, extending greetings to residents in Yeongyang and Cheongsong counties, located in the same province. The Lee government has introduced the basic income scheme to provide local residents with 150,000 won ($112) per month in gift vouchers. A total of 69 counties nationwide have been designated as population-declining regions, 17 of which are currently running the pilot program.

URDA, Spain — Was Spain’s second major train collision in nine months caused by human error, or did it stem from deeper problems in its once- vaunted high-speed rail network? Transport Minister Óscar Puente has blamed a traffic controller’s poor judgment for much of what went wrong in Wednesday’s collision in Toledo province, which killed at least 69 people. Railway unions have pushed back, citing deteriorating working conditions. They say too few controllers are handling growing workloads, making it increasingly difficult to ensure the safety of millions of passengers. As the country sought answers on Friday, police with sniffer dogs continued searching the wreckage. Regional authorities warned that the death toll could rise. It was the second major crash on the Madrid-Seville line this year. In January, more than two hours farther south along the route, a train derailed and struck another traveling in the opposite direction, killing 46 people. That crash remains under investigation. “It is unacceptable that a country like Spain with such a strong high-speed railway has two ac

President Lee Jae Myung renewed his call Saturday for a review of multicultural family support programs, saying any preferential policy that can create reverse discrimination cannot be justified. Lee posted the comments on social media amid criticism after he suggested the need to revise the support programs for multicultural families in South Korea, such as priority access to low-cost public postpartum care centers. In an earlier posting on his X account, Lee questioned whether mothers from multicultural families and mothers recognized as persons of national merit deserve to be placed in the same category for reservations at government-funded postpartum care centers. The issue, which the liberal president brought forward after citing a post from a conservative online community site, has drawn backlash from the liberal bloc voicing concern that such a move amounts to inciting hatred in society. "While it is true that support for multicultural families is necessary, that cannot justify specific policies that are unreasonable or may result in reverse discrimination," Lee wrote on X. "Just b

Binance, the world's biggest cryptocurrency exchange, said Friday that hackers stole more than $6 billion in what appears to be the largest cryptocurrency heist on record. Blockchain firms have pointed to the attack coming from a North Korean hacking unit. The company said it has reserved more than $6.34 billion of company funds to cover the stolen assets and was beginning to recover assets for users. Binance worked with blockchain partners to freeze roughly $3 billion in affected assets. The cryptocurrency exchange has promised to cover all losses, and it has been sharing regular updates on its social media channels as it uncovers more information about the hack. “We are working nonstop to resolve this,” Binance's co-CEO Richard Teng said Friday in a video posted to X. In an exchange Friday with reporters at the White House, President Donald Trump said U.S. officials were investigating the Binance hack. Asked whether North Korea was involved, Trump said: “We’re looking at that.” Here's what we know about the hack, possible North Korean involvement and Binance's investigation. No

North Korea blasted Saturday a joint statement recently issued by the United States, South Korea and other partner nations calling for continued enforcement of sanctions against Pyongyang's nuclear and weapons programs, branding the move as a "strategic failure." A spokesperson from the North's foreign ministry issued the criticism in a statement, after 11 countries and the European Union (EU) released the joint statement earlier this week reaffirming their commitment to monitoring the North's activities in violation of U.N. Security Council (UNSC) sanctions resolutions. The joint statement also highlighted the findings of the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT) on the North's illicit activities and welcomed fresh independent sanctions imposed by the U.S., Australia and the EU over the North's cyberactivities and dispatch of its workers overseas to finance its nuclear weapons and missile programs. "This is another case that reminds us that the hostile forces' bad habit of denying the constitutional status of our state," the spokesperson said in the statement carried by the Nor

INCHEON — A fishing boat caught fire off the West Sea island of Yeongheung on Saturday and all 22 people aboard were rescued, with two of them taken to a hospital for inhaling smoke, officials said. The fire broke out on the 9.77-ton charter fishing boat in waters 0.9 nautical mile south of the island at 6:51 a.m. After receiving a distress call from the boat, the Coast Guard sent patrol and rescue boats to the scene, put out the fire and rescued all aboard. Two of them, including the boat's skipper, were taken to a hospital for inhaling smoke. Two Coast Guard officers also inhaled smoke and planned to receive medical treatment. The Coast Guard plans to investigate the exact cause of the fire and the extent of damage based on witness statements that sparks and smoke came from the boat's passenger cabin.

Police said Saturday they have found no drug-related violations during a joint crackdown the previous night on nightlife districts in Seoul on the eve of Halloween. Police carried out inspections at eight clubs in nightlife districts in Gangnam, Seocho and Yongsan on Friday night as part of a special drug crackdown that has been under way since August in cooperation with fire and municipality authorities. "Ahead of Halloween, we conducted crackdowns focusing on clubs, entertainment venues, and areas with high concentrations of foreigners, where large crowds are expected," a police official said. "We will continue to strengthen inspections and crackdown activities in vulnerable areas." Police urged the public to actively report drug-related crimes, saying they will guarantee the anonymity of informants and rewards will be provided.

North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui met one-on-one with her Swiss counterpart visiting Pyongyang earlier this week and discussed promoting dialogue and cooperation, the North's state media reported Saturday. Choe held the talks with Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis, who was on a two-day trip since Friday following Switzerland's recent opening of its first diplomatic office in Pyongyang. The two sides discussed "the issue of promoting dialogue and cooperation between the diplomatic fields of the two countries and exchanged the appraisal and views of the international situation of common concern," the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. "The talks proceeded in a friendly atmosphere," the news outlet said, without elaborating. Also attending the talks from the North's side were Jong Tong-hak, the North's vice foreign minister, and Jo Chol-su, North Korea's top envoy to Switzerland, among other officials. In a separate dispatch, the KCNA reported that Cassis paid a courtesy call on Jo Yong-won, secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, on the same

Rep. Jin Sung-joon of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea said Saturday he has been issued a U.S. visa for a trip to the U.S. Pacific Command, days after he said his application was rejected. Jin, who serves as chairman of the parliamentary defense committee, said in a Facebook post that he received the visa from the U.S. Embassy in Seoul and that it was fortunate the U.S. State Department has issued the official A-2 visa, albeit belatedly. The lawmaker said he will depart Sunday afternoon and hold discussions with the U.S Pacific commander and other U.S. military leaders about strengthening bilateral security cooperation and developing a future-oriented alliance. On Wednesday, Jin had said his U.S. visa application was rejected and shared on Facebook what appeared to be a document that showed his application was refused. Jin expressed strong regret, saying the rejection was difficult to understand, given that he had visited the U.S. command in 2014 as a member of the parliamentary committee. The exact reason for the denial was unclear, but some observers note that Jin's past conviction

The two right-handed pitchers that went toe-to-toe earlier in the ongoing South Korean baseball postseason will meet again Sunday with much more at stake — a ticket to the championship series. The Samsung Lions will host the Kia Tigers for the deciding Game 5 of their best-of-five second round in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason at 2 p.m. Sunday at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in Daegu, some 230 kilometers southeast of Seoul. The winner of this game will advance to the Korean Series, which begins Tuesday with the regular-season champions KT Wiz waiting. The Lions will have their Panamanian ace Ariel Jurado on the hill Sunday, while the Tigers will counter with their American starter Adam Oller. These two pitchers also started Game 2 back on Tuesday in Daegu, where the Lions prevailed 8-3. Jurado collected his first career postseason win by holding the Tigers to two runs on five hits in 6 2/3 innings. Jurado had faced the Tigers only once in the regular season. On May 15, Jurado gave up three runs on 10 hits in seven innings and struck out a season-high seven batters, but the

WASHINGTON — Korean Ambassador to the United States Kang Kyung-wha has pledged to strengthen cooperation with U.S. authorities to support bilateral investment, describing Hyundai Motor Group's latest investment in Alabama as an example of the expanding economic partnership between the two countries. Kang made the remarks Wednesday while attending a ceremony announcing Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama's plan to invest about $450 million in its Montgomery plant, according to the Korean Embassy in Washington. The ambassador highlighted Hyundai's presence in the U.S. as an "outstanding example" of how the Korea-U.S. alliance has evolved over more than seven decades, expanding beyond its security foundations into cooperation in economic security and advanced technology. Kang also said the investment would combine Korea's advanced manufacturing capabilities with America's innovation and market competitiveness, allowing the two countries to "shape the future of the automotive industry together," according to the embassy. She added that the Korean government would work closely with U.S. fed

WASHINGTON — The top diplomats of South Korea, the United States and Japan on Friday reaffirmed their commitment to the complete denuclearization of North Korea during trilateral talks, the U.S. State Department said. South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun met with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi on the sidelines of a Group of 20 (G20) meeting in Atlanta, according to a State Department readout. "The Secretary and Foreign Ministers reaffirmed their resolute commitment to the complete denuclearization" of North Korea and the full implementation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, the department said. The three ministers also underscored the need to enforce U.N. sanctions prohibiting activities that generate revenue for Pyongyang's nuclear and ballistic missile programs, while commending the work of the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team in exposing North Korea's sanctions violations and evasion. They emphasized the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. Rubio also raised concerns about China's

WASHINGTON — As early voting surges across the country, President Donald Trump is reshuffling his weekend schedule to rally Republicans in two states with critical Senate races, underscoring his party’s push to drive turnout ahead of Election Day. The Republican president will now visit Iowa and Kansas for back-to-back campaign rallies on Sunday, according to a person familiar with his plans who insisted on anonymity to discuss his schedule. Both rallies had previously been canceled. The last-minute reversal comes amid a nationwide surge in early voting. Nearly 10 million more Americans had cast ballots five days before Election Day than at the same point in 2022, according to an Associated Press analysis of voting data. The increases have been particularly pronounced in states with competitive Senate races, including Iowa and Kansas, where early voting is up roughly 30%. Democrats and Republicans each hope that rise favors them as they fight for control of Congress in an election that has turned largely on affordability issues and the president's unpopularity. At the start of the m

WASHINGTON — Hanwha Defense USA (HDUSA), a subsidiary of South Korea's Hanwha Aerospace Co., has secured a $269 million contract to build a medium landing ship (LSM) for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, marking its first U.S. Navy shipbuilding contract, according to the company. The company said Thursday it was selected by U.S. maritime services firm Tote Services to build one LSM at Hanwha Philly Shipyard in Philadelphia, with options to construct three additional vessels. The selection was made through a competitive bidding process under Tote Services' vessel construction management program, which oversees shipbuilding contracts for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. "Since acquiring Philly Shipyard in 2024, Hanwha has made significant investments in its workforce and technology to pave the way to build ships for the U.S. Navy and other federal customers," HDUSA President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Michael Coulter said. Construction is scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2027. Tote Services' $2.2 billion vessel construction manager contract supports the Navy and Marine Corp