WASHINGTON — South Korea, the United States and other like-minded partners on Wednesday reaffirmed their commitment to the denuclearization of North Korea, highlighting recent sanctions targeting Pyongyang's overseas workers, cyber activities and military cooperation with Russia. In a joint statement issued by 11 countries and the European Union, the participants welcomed sanctions imposed by the U.S., Australia and the European Union in October to disrupt North Korea's efforts to finance its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs. The statement was issued by South Korea, the U.S., Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Britain and the EU. The countries highlighted findings by the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT), which shed light on Pyongyang's military cooperation with Russia, cyber-enabled IT worker schemes and overseas labor operations. The team was established after a U.N. expert panel, tasked with monitoring sanctions enforcement, was disbanded in April 2024 due to Russia's veto of a resolution to extend its mandate. I

Korea’s electric vehicle (EV) market is showing clear signs of crossing the chasm before mass adoption, as lower-cost models and surging fuel expenses make EVs increasingly attractive to consumers. The trend is seen in the increasing demand for used EVs. Their growing popularity could also help ease concerns over resale values — which was considered one of the longstanding obstacles blocking widespread EV adoption. As demand strengthens and prices stabilize, prospective buyers may become less wary of losing money when selling their vehicles, potentially supporting further growth in new EV sales. According to K Car, the country’s major used car sales platform, used all-electric cars took an average of 81 percent as long to sell as internal combustion engine vehicles during the January-September period. In other words, used EVs sold 19 percent faster than their gasoline- and diesel-powered counterparts. EVs also accounted for a share of K Car’s total used car sales that was approximately 32 percent higher than a year earlier during the same period, indicating that consumer interest

French food and beverage brands gathered in Seoul to court health-conscious Korean consumers, with a record 19 companies taking part in Business France’s Food Experience 2026 exhibition at the French ambassador’s residence and the Kim Chung-up Pavilion, Monday. Now in its fifth year, Food Experience is a business-to-business event connecting French companies with Korean importers, distributors and food service industry professionals. Coinciding with the 140th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries this year, the event featured a record 19 brands, presenting a wide range of products, from those already available in Korea to brands yet to enter the market. A particular focus this year was on companies from Occitania, a major food-producing region in southern France with diverse landscapes stretching from the Mediterranean coast to the Pyrenees and inland agricultural areas. Among them was beverage brand Gopy, which showcased ginger drinks positioned as a milder alternative to Korean ginger. "In France, it is now like a fashion," Anisa Maleck, Gopy's export manage

HONG KONG — Students were busy working on their projects when The Korea Times visited the Innovation Wing under the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) in early September. The space was filled with 3D printers, equipment and displays of projects developed by students. “This place is for experiential learning activities,” said Kevin Tien-Hsuan Wu, a lecturer at HKU’s Innovation Academy, who guided reporters around the facility on Sept. 2. “Students come here not just to do their homework, but to turn their ideas into prototypes.” The Innovation Wing gives students a place to put what they learn in class into practice. They can develop their own ideas or form groups with others who share their interests, with the university providing equipment, workspace and academic advice. “We encourage students to do hands-on work here,” Wu said. “They learn the knowledge in the classroom, and they actually build things here.” Students can use 3D printers to produce parts and prototypes and small jobs are supported as part of the service. Staff are on hand to h

HONG KONG — When asked how artificial intelligence (AI) is changing higher education, Jay S. Siegel, vice president of the University of Hong Kong (HKU), began by challenging the premise of the question. “I don’t think that higher education is moving beyond content delivery and into critical thinking,” he said during an interview with The Korea Times on the university’s campus. Siegel, who also serves as pro-vice-chancellor for teaching and learning, argued that leading universities have always sought to develop independent thinkers. What concerns him more is whether universities place too much emphasis on grades and examinations rather than encouraging students to develop a lasting desire to learn. “Motivation is more important than assessment,” he said. Siegel believes examinations are valuable primarily because they encourage students to study, rather than because of the grades they produce. Preparing for a test requires students to read, think and engage with material, and that effort may matter more than the eventual score. A student who studies diligently but receives

Wounds remain fresh even four years after the deadly crowd crush in central Seoul’s multicultural Itaewon neighborhood. The tragedy claimed the lives of 159 people, mostly young Koreans and including over 25 foreign nationals, who had gathered in a sloped, narrow alley near Hamilton Hotel to celebrate Halloween on Oct. 29, 2022. Nearly 200 others were injured. The festive atmosphere suddenly gave way to collective grief. The tragedy became a watershed moment in the debate over the role of government in public safety. Police received 11 calls warning of the potential danger of surging crowds before the incident, but the warnings went unheeded. Where was the state when people were dying? The Itaewon crowd crush triggered a paradigm shift in how safety is understood. Before the tragedy, safety was often treated as an issue to be addressed through relief and recovery after an accident. In its aftermath, safety has increasingly come to be recognized as a fundamental right, one that entitles people to demand proactive government action to protect the public from preventable disasters. The Fr

SEATTLE — A former U.S. diplomat said it is "very unusual" for Korean lawmakers to have their official visits disrupted by visa complications, suggesting that stricter interpretations of U.S. immigration rules may be behind the recent difficulties. Henry Haggard, a former minister counselor for political affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul who now heads a Washington D.C.-based geopolitical advisory firm, said additional screening for applicants with criminal records is normal, but such procedures have historically rarely prevented senior officials from traveling to the United States on official business. "It is normal for any official or citizen with a criminal record — Korean or otherwise — to have to go through a more complex application process, but it is very unusual for such additional processing to lead to lawmakers or those traveling for official business to have to cancel their trip or to get refused," Haggard told The Korea Times on Wednesday. His comments came after Rep. Jin Sung-joon, chair of the National Assembly's defense committee, disclosed that his U.S. visa appl

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve kept its key rate unchanged Wednesday at about 3.9 percent despite stubbornly high inflation, while providing little hint about the central bank’s next moves. “Inflation remains elevated,” the Fed said in a statement released after its two-day policy meeting. Holding off on an increase will allow “the accumulation of more information” that will help determine what policy the Fed should pursue “to ensure a timely return of inflation” to the central bank’s 2 percent inflation target, the statement said. The Fed, led by Chairman Kevin Warsh, raised its benchmark rate last month for the first time in three years, defying President Donald Trump’s demands for rate cuts, in an effort to get inflation back to its 2 percent target in a “timelier” manner. The Fed is tasked by Congress to combat inflation, and it does so by lifting rates to slow borrowing and spending and cool price increases. The statement leaves the Fed’s next moves unclear, even though officials last month penciled in another rate hike for this year. Wall Street invest

LOS ANGELES — Apple CEO John Ternus unveiled the company's first touchscreen MacBooks on Wednesday, abandoning a long-held aversion to the technology as it caps a burst of product launches ahead of the holiday shopping season. Ternus, a former Apple hardware veteran and the company's new CEO, took the stage at an Apple event in Los Angeles, part of a media blitz filled with new product launches. He launched a folding iPhone, Duo, at Apple's Silicon Valley headquarters in September and a smart home hub in New York earlier this month. While those products will test new markets for Apple, the Los Angeles event could rekindle an old question: should Apple put the touchscreens that it made mainstream in iPhones and iPads in its oldest product line? Apple executives long resisted the idea, with Steve Jobs saying in 2010 that touchscreens on laptops were "ergonomically terrible" and then-CEO Tim Cook saying in 2012 that such devices would be as pleasing to users as converging a toaster and a refrigerator. Before becoming Apple's latest CEO, Ternus argued that Apple already made a touchscreen c

WASHINGTON — The cost of the Iran war to American taxpayers has grown to $47.1 billion, according to a new estimate the Pentagon has provided to Congress. The fallout from the conflict has become a key issue in the midterm elections and could increase as President Donald Trump leaves open the possibility of renewed hostilities. The figure from U.S. Central Command, which oversees operations in the Middle East, is as of Oct. 16 and offers the most up-to-date cost for the conflict since it was launched in late February by the United States and Israel. The latest price tag, obtained by The Associated Press this week, shows a $3.5 billion bump in U.S. spending since early September, when that figure stood at about $43.6 billion. The growing cost of the unpopular war and its economic ripple effects on energy prices could hurt Republicans in next week's midterm elections. Voters on Tuesday will decide which political party controls Congress during Trump's last two years in office. The Republican president has said new strikes on Iran are an option after the midterms and is sending more mili

NEW YORK — U.S. stocks are drifting Wednesday as the countdown ticks toward this afternoon’s announcement from the Federal Reserve on what it will do with interest rates. The S&P 500 rose 0.2 percent and pulled within 1 percent of its all-time high, which was set earlier this month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 149 points, or 0.3 percent, as of 12:46 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was mostly unchanged. The day’s highlight will likely be what the Federal Reserve says, if anything, about where interest rates are heading. The Fed raised its main interest rate last month for the first time in three years in hopes of slowing the high inflation that’s squeezing the economy and discouraging Americans. The widespread expectation on Wall Street is that the Fed will leave the federal funds rate alone at this meeting, and the question is whether it will give hints about what may happen at later meetings. Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh, though, has been adamant since taking over the Fed about wanting it to give fewer indications about its future moves. Wall Street cares so

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve is expected to stand pat on interest rates Wednesday even though inflation has accelerated in the past couple of months as the Iran war has caused spikes in oil and gas prices. The Fed's latest policy meeting concludes less than a week before the midterm elections, which have focused heavily on concerns about the cost of living and affordability. Consumers have generally soured on an economy weighed down by more expensive gas, groceries, and clothing, among other items. The Fed, led by Chairman Kevin Warsh, wants to return inflation to its 2 percent target, which it typically does by raising its short-term interest rate. Higher borrowing costs, over time, can cool spending and slow inflation. The Fed raised its key rate last month for the first time in three years, from about 3.6 percent to 3.9 percent, in what many investors and economists perceived was a first step toward a renewed effort to bring down inflation. Yet Warsh faces a host of challenges in achieving that goal. President Donald Trump slammed the Fed for raising its key rate last month, th

NAZARETH, Israel — Israel's Palestinian citizens appear set to secure a record number of seats in parliament and could emerge as kingmakers after strong turnout in Tuesday's election, galvanized by what they describe as the racist policies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government. But while they may have helped block an outright win by Netanyahu and his far-right allies, parties representing Israel's 21% Arab minority have so far been shunned by the prime minister's main opponent, Gadi Eisenkot, who has no clear path to power without them. Vote tallies show the two main Arab parties on course to win around 19 of parliament's 120 seats, nearly double their current representation in the Knesset. Netanyahu's coalition bloc is on track for 53 seats, short of the 61 needed for a majority, with Eisenkot's grouping expected to win 48 seats. 'Getting rid of Netanyahu's government' Yousef Jabareen, the leader of the Arab-dominated Joint List, told Reuters his party would seek to use its projected 12 seats "to facilitate getting rid of Netanyahu's government and hopefully helping to cha

JERUSALEM — Benjamin Netanyahu looked set to remain Israel's caretaker prime minister after unexpectedly strong backing among Jewish voters left his opponents little apparent prospect of unseating him, despite his right-wing bloc losing its parliamentary majority. With nearly 86 percent of votes tallied on Wednesday, Israel's three main broadcasters projected Netanyahu's bloc of right-wing, far-right and ultra-Orthodox parties would win 53 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, well ahead of the 48 for rival Gadi Eisenkot's opposition bloc. Parties representing Arab Israelis were projected to win an unprecedented 19 seats, leaving Eisenkot little realistic path to power without their broad backing, which many Jewish political leaders reject. The results could still change as counting continued, but Eisenkot's bloc of anti-Netanyahu parties, ranging from the centre-left to the hard right, had fallen short of pre-election polls that forecast a tight race. Netanyahu would remain caretaker prime minister during any coalition negotiations and potentially until another election next year. While a ca

JERUSALEM — Hawkish, reserved and unpolished, Israel's former military chief has a viable chance of unseating Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. His name is Gadi Eisenkot. And while the votes from Tuesday's election are still being counted, his centrist party, Yashar, along with other opposition allies, has the clearest path to power if they can join forces with Arab-led parties, though pulling it off may prove difficult. It has been a remarkable climb for the 66-year-old, who was raised by Moroccan-Jewish immigrants, and whose son died fighting in the latest war in Gaza. But it's also a major challenge for a man relatively untested in Israel's hardscrabble tradition of coalition building. The commander of some of Israel's most difficult wartime battles, he is now up against Netanyahu, who has shown, time and time again, an almost uncanny ability to survive the cutthroat world of Israeli politics. Nevertheless, Eisenkot was ecstatic and determined late Tuesday as initial exit polls suggested a big loss for Netanyahu. “We have made history!" he bellowed from a podium in Tel Aviv. “Mil

The United States imposed sanctions on Wednesday to target what the Treasury Department said were North Korean government-run schemes that use IT workers to defraud U.S. businesses and generate revenue for Pyongyang's weapons programs. The Treasury Department said the schemes involve North Korean IT workers fraudulently gaining employment with companies in the United States and elsewhere, and Pyongyang taking most of the workers' wages to fund its weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs. "These networks permeate through the global financial system, necessitating a unified response to match the threat," the department said in a statement, adding that Australia and the European Union also imposed North Korea-related sanctions this month. North Korea's mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The sanctions come as U.S. President Donald Trump has been eager to jump-start talks with North Korea, but Pyongyang has shown little interest in diplomacy aimed at containing its nuclear program. However, earlier this month Trum

Prediction markets are seeing massive trades for Anthropic contracts after the AI giant's IPO filing, even as retail stock traders await the official opening bell likely next month. The binary "yes" or "no" bets in prediction markets are influencing the way retail investors speculate on high-profile IPOs, allowing traders to wager on aspects such as the closing prices and its listing venue without the need to buy shares. "Prediction market interest in Anthropic's IPO is the financial equivalent of people lining up outside the Apple Store before a new iPhone release," said Michael Ashley Schulman, a partner at wealth management and financial advisory firm Cerity Partners. Earlier this week, Anthropic took a major step toward going public by unveiling its IPO filing. The listing could value the AI lab behind the Claude models at between $1.5 trillion and $2 trillion, Reuters has reported. On Polymarket, more than a dozen markets have sprung up around the IPO, where traders are placing bets on its fundraising haul, listing exchange and debut valuation. Rival Kalshi is also drawing bets on ev

URDA, Spain — At least 68 people died when two Spanish high-speed trains collided on Wednesday, with rescuers scouring the wreckage for more bodies after Spain's second deadly rail accident this year and Europe's deadliest since 2013. Spain's transport minister said Wednesday's crash south of Madrid occurred after a Renfe train was authorised to continue its journey despite there being an active red signal because of a stationary train on the track ahead. Oscar Puente told reporters in Madrid that the red signal was issued due to a computer communications failure, which automatically stopped traffic, and an erroneous decision had been made to restart the Renfe train, in a breach of protocol. Ambulances, funeral home vans and helicopters were parked next to one of the trains on an elevated section of track, while twisted metal, broken panels and wreckage were strewn across an embankment down which at least three carriages had plunged. Rescuers looking for more victims Evacuated passengers streamed along a nearby road. Some were splattered with blood or had bandaged wounds, while others w

Rep. Jin Sung-joon of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) on Wednesday said his application for a U.S. visa for a trip to the U.S. Pacific Command had been rejected, expressing regret over the situation. Jin, who chairs the parliamentary defense committee, said he was scheduled to lead a parliamentary delegation to the U.S. command in Hawaii in early November to discuss the South Korea-U.S. alliance and ways to strengthen bilateral security cooperation. "I express strong regret over the U.S. rejection of a visa for the chair of the parliamentary defense committee of the Republic of Korea," he wrote in a Facebook post, sharing what appeared to be a document that showed his application was refused. Jin said the delegation had meetings scheduled with key figures, including U.S. Pacific Commander Adm. Samuel Paparo, adding the rejection is 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 visa rejection was not known. The foreign ministry said it is consulting with the U.S. side on the matter and that

On Oct. 7, Wooriga Green Farm, a cherry tomato smart farm in Seobuk District in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, was filled with rows of tomato vines stretching nearly to the greenhouse ceiling. Ripe red tomatoes hung in clusters along both sides of the aisles. They were the last fruits of the summer growing season. The farm’s owner, Woo Min-jae, 32, is considered one of the region’s leading young farmers. He worked for a subcontractor of a major company in the Seoul metropolitan area from 2017 until late 2019, but lost his job when the factory relocated to China. Six years after leaving his job, Woo has transformed himself into a full-fledged farmer, operating a greenhouse operation covering 1,900 square meters. His farm generated 150 million won ($110,000) in revenue last year. Young people like Woo are becoming increasingly scarce in rural areas. According to the Ministry of Data and Statistics, the rural farming population plunged from a little over 3 million in 2010 to just over 2 million in 2024. Over the same period, the proportion of farmers aged 65 and older surged fro