HD Hyundai Robotics, a robotics solutions unit of South Korea's shipbuilding conglomerate HD Hyundai, said Sunday it has partnered with Palantir Technologies. to develop physical artificial intelligence (AI) solutions. The partnership aims to transform workplace operations through the adoption of physical AI and redefine the role of engineers in overseeing industrial sites, HD Hyundai Robotics said in a press release. The company's Chief Technology Officer Ahn Seong-hwan recently attended Palantir's "Sovereignty Bootcamp" in New York, an event focused on strengthening AI-driven business competitiveness while safeguarding core corporate data and business information. At the event, Ahn presented HD Hyundai Robotics' strategy for applying physical AI and its vision for future development, while outlining the company's collaboration with Palantir on physical AI solutions. Palantir will help HD Hyundai Robotics identify new business opportunities by leveraging the U.S. company's AI platform, the release said.

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun has held a series of bilateral talks with his counterparts from the European Union (EU), Britain, India and Mexico on the sidelines of a Group of 20 (G20) meeting in the United States, his office said Sunday. Cho met Kaja Kallas, the EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, during the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Atlanta on Saturday, and called for strengthening their security partnership in cyber and space. The two sides also exchanged views on the security situation on the Korean Peninsula and in Ukraine, according to Seoul's foreign ministry. During talks with his British counterpart, Ed Miliband, the same day, Cho called for deeper bilateral defense and artificial intelligence cooperation. They also agreed to cooperate closely, considering that Britain and South Korea will chair the G20 in 2027 and 2028, respectively. Cho also met Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and reviewed progress in implementing agreements reached during President Lee Jae Myung's state visit to India in April. He held talks with his Mexi

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun has explained Seoul's position on a recent land mine blast in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) at a Group of 20 (G20) meeting and highlighted the need for inter-Korean dialogue, his office said Sunday. South Korea has blamed the North for the Sept. 21 mine blast inside the DMZ separating the two Koreas that injured three South Korean soldiers, and has called for military talks to ease tensions. Pyongyang, however, has denied responsibility, vowing to take military action along the border if needed. During the two-day G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Atlanta, Cho explained Seoul's stance on the explosion, noting that communication between the two Koreas is more important than ever to ease tensions, according to the ministry. He also noted that deepening military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow has serious implications for security on the Korean Peninsula and in the region, it said, as the two sides have forged closer ties through the deployment of North Korean troops to support Russia's war against Ukraine. Cho asked for support from G20 members for Seoul's

Unionized workers at South Korean steelmaker POSCO will vote this week on a tentative wage agreement reached with management, the union said Sunday. The two sides have held 30 rounds of negotiations since June, while the union staged two partial strikes in September to demand higher wages and bonuses. Last week, the union said it would launch an "indefinite" strike from Nov. 2 unless the company presented an acceptable wage offer. On Friday, the union reached a tentative agreement on the company's latest offer, which includes a 2.6 percent increase in base pay, a one-off payment of 6 million won ($4,500) and improved benefits. Union members are scheduled to vote on the deal on Saturday. The union had initially demanded a 7.1 percent increase in base pay, a performance bonus equivalent to 600 percent of base pay, 50 company shares per worker and a holiday bonus equivalent to 200 percent of base pay. In addition to higher wages, the union cited staffing shortages and aging facilities as factors that could heighten the risk of workplace accidents. Management's previous offer included a 2.5 pe

South Korea's exports jumped 93.7 percent to a record $115.3 billion in October from a year earlier, driven largely by a sharp increase in semiconductor shipments, data showed Sunday. Strong global demand for semiconductors, coupled with continued investments by major technology companies in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, boosted overall exports, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources said in a press release. Imports rose 36 percent from a year earlier to $72.78 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $42.5 billion. Cumulative exports for the January-October period exceeded $900 billion for the first time, with the ministry projecting that the country's annual exports could reach $1 trillion as early as November if the current trend continues. By sector, semiconductor exports, a key pillar of Asia's fourth-largest economy, skyrocketed 259 percent from a year earlier to $56.4 billion in October, the release said. Exports of petroleum products jumped 80 percent to $6.92 billion, while those of petrochemical products rose 27.5 percent to $4 billion. Cosmetics exports sho

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said Saturday that North Korea was responsible for the theft of more than $6 billion in cryptocurrency from Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, earlier this week. "The FBI is releasing information advising the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was responsible for the theft of more than $6 billion in virtual assets from cryptocurrency exchange Binance, on or about October 29, 2026," the agency said in a cyber alert, referring to North Korea by its official name. The FBI identified the North Korean cyber operation as "TraderTraitor," a name previously associated with cryptocurrency thefts carried out by North Korean hackers. The agency said it had observed the hackers converting stolen assets primarily into Ethereum, a major cryptocurrency, in cooperation with the U.S. Secret Service and the Internal Revenue Service's Criminal Investigation division. The FBI warned that the hackers were expected to further launder the stolen assets through decentralized finance platforms and cryptocurrency exchange services

North Korea has tested a cluster bomb that can be mounted on tactical ballistic missiles and vowed to field various types of cluster warheads by the end of the year, its state media said Sunday. The North's Missile Administration conducted the test on Saturday to assess the combat adaptability and power of a cluster-bomb warhead to be mounted on tactical ballistic missiles, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The research institutes under the Missile Administration "confirmed that Standard Type 2 cluster-bomb warhead is capable of turning into ashes a target area of 12 to 13 hectares with its highest-density power," according to the KCNA. The general director of the Missile Administration was quoted as stating that the cluster bomb warheads are classified into four categories depending on their purposes. "Within this year we will enable units to select and use all those types according to operational aims and specific features of targets," the director said. A cluster bomb releases dozens to hundreds of submunitions, allowing it to strike multiple targets over a wide area. South Ko

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump remains open to talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un if Pyongyang is willing to discuss issues of concern to Washington and its allies, but no meeting has been scheduled, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Saturday. Rubio made the remarks during a press conference following a Group of 20 (G20) foreign ministers' meeting in Atlanta. "I think the president's perspective is, if North Korea and Kim Jong-un is prepared to talk with the United States about issues that are of concern to us and of concern to our allies, like South Korea, he would be open to doing it," Rubio said. "Nothing has been scheduled. I do not have anything to announce in regards to that today," he added. His remarks came amid persistent speculations over the possibility of renewed diplomacy between Trump and Kim, who held three meetings during Trump's first presidential term. The comments also followed trilateral talks among Rubio and his South Korean and Japanese counterparts in Atlanta on Friday, during which the three top diplomats reaffirmed their commitment to th

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

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.

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

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