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 — 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

GWANGJU — The Kia Tigers rallied past the Samsung Lions 4-2 to stave off elimination in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason Friday, taking advantage of subpar defense by their opponents to force a deciding game on the weekend. The Tigers turned a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the seventh inning in Game 4 before a sellout crowd of 18,900 at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in the southwestern city of Gwangju. They scored all three runs in the inning after a fielding error by third baseman Kim Young-woong, with Han Jun-su delivering the tie-breaking hit as part of his two-RBI night. Closer Jeon Sang-hyun got the final six outs for the save. This best-of-five series is now tied at 2-2, and the final game is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in the southeastern city of Daegu. The winner of that do-or-die game will advance to the Korean Series against the KT Wiz, starting Tuesday. The two starting pitchers, James Naile for the Tigers and Chris Paddack for the Lions, were going on three days' rest after they had both pitched in Monday's Game 1. After getti

INCHEON — South Korea and the United States have complementary strengths and are capable of driving "great" progress in the nuclear sector amid a heated global race to develop next-generation reactors, a U.S. State Department official said. Christopher Klein, the deputy assistant secretary for nuclear nonproliferation and commercial competitiveness at the U.S. Department of State, made the remarks in an exclusive interview with Yonhap News Agency on Wednesday, saying the global landscape has transitioned into a "nuclear renaissance." "We are countries that both have a lot of experience and expertise, and when we work together ... we can achieve great things," Klein said during the interview on the margins of the International Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Power held in Incheon, west of Seoul. The three-day event, organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), was held in South Korea for the first time this year. Klein's comment comes amid growing attention to Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) — a new class of nuclear power plants -- as countries seek reliable, carbon-fre

A special counsel team on Friday asked the National Election Commission (NEC) to keep intact the 420 ballot boxes that drew no objections during its inspection at a Seoul handball arena, saying it may need to examine them again. The boxes had sat in the Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium in southeastern Seoul since the June 3 local elections. Special counsel Lee Tae-han's team carried them out Thursday after reviewing all 2.47 million ballots cast in the southeastern Songpa Ward. The team has been investigating unprecedented ballot shortages on Election Day that turned some voters away before they could cast their votes. The ballots were placed in 433 boxes, 420 of which were taken to an NEC storage facility in the capital area, according to the commission. Under the election law, they will be stored for the duration of the elected officials' terms. The team took the remaining 13 boxes and will inspect their content further based on objections raised by on-site observers. Some of them will be sent to the National Forensic Service for closer examination. The gymnasium served as a vote countin

A check-in system malfunction that occurred at Incheon International Airport was fully resolved by Friday afternoon, the airport operator said, after causing major delays in passenger processing. The malfunction began at 4:30 a.m. in an airline network connecting ticketing systems at the country's main gateway, leading to intermittent connectivity issues for eight airlines at Terminal 1 and five airlines at Terminal 2, according to Incheon International Airport Corp. By the afternoon, ticketing was effectively halted at three airlines -- China Southern Airlines, China Eastern Airlines and Air China. The airport later said all three had resumed ticketing operations. Long lines of passengers formed at check-in counters, with some protesting that their airlines were not informing them of expected recovery times despite their approaching departures. As of 5 p.m., 38 flights had been delayed, leaving some 1,200 travelers stranded. The airport operator said the disruption appeared to have been caused by a glitch in the global network of American aviation service provider ARINC.

INCHEON — South Korea and the United States have complementary strengths and are capable of driving "great" progress in the nuclear sector amid a heated global race to develop next-generation reactors, a U.S. State Department official said. Christopher Klein, the deputy assistant secretary for nuclear nonproliferation and commercial competitiveness at the U.S. Department of State, made the remarks in an exclusive interview with Yonhap News Agency on Wednesday, saying the global landscape has transitioned into a "nuclear renaissance." "We are countries that both have a lot of experience and expertise, and when we work together ... we can achieve great things," Klein said during the interview on the margins of the International Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Power held in Incheon, west of Seoul. The three-day event, organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), was held in South Korea for the first time this year. Klein's comment comes amid growing attention to Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) — a new class of nuclear power plants — as countries seek reliable, carbon-fr

GWANGJU — On the brink of elimination from the South Korean baseball postseason, the Kia Tigers put together a much different lineup Friday than the ones from their earlier games. The Tigers are trailing the Samsung Lions 2-1 in the best-of-five series in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), having dropped two straight games after winning the first game Monday. The winner of this series will advance to the Korean Series starting next week. Manager Lee Bum-ho moved up his top three sluggers a spot each — with Kim Do-yeong batting second, Harold Castro batting third and Na Sung-bum in the cleanup spot against starter Chris Paddack. The Tigers have received almost nothing from the No. 2 spot, which has been occupied by different players in all three games so far. They have batted a combined 1-for-12. Kim is leading the Tigers in this series with five hits, including a home run. With Paddack pitching on three days' rest after losing Game 1, Lee said he wanted to lean on players who already saw the American pitcher in that opening game. Paddack was charged with the loss after allowing fiv

The makers behind the Call of Duty video game apologized Friday for using real footage of the deadly 2022 Seoul crowd crush in its latest installment of the game and agreed to remove the footage. A short clip showing a paramedic performing CPR on a crowd crush victim lying on the street appeared in the opening moments of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4. The footage was used to depict a scenario of civilian casualties during a fictional war with North Korea. "We deeply apologize to the victims and their bereaved families who must have suffered, as well as to everyone who we have caused concern," Activision Publishing Inc. said in a notice to local reporters. "The footage will be removed in our update set to be rolled out on Nov. 12." The publisher added it had no plans to evoke -tragic events, including the Itaewon crowd crush, when using news footage in its games, nor had it intended to ignore the pain caused by the accident. A total of 159 people were killed in a narrow alleyway in Seoul's night life district of Itaewon during Halloween festivities on Oct. 29, 2022. Bereaved families of

Korean auteur Lee Chang-dong's short film "Heartbeat" will be released on Netflix next week, days ahead of Lee's Venice-winning film "Possible Love," the streaming platform said Friday. The 2022 film centers around a young boy whose mother lives with depression and a father who stages labor strikes atop a tower crane. It is Lee's first short film. The 28-minute film, which premiered at the 23rd Jeonju International Film Festival without theatrical release, stars actors Jeon Do-yeon and Sul Kyung-gu, the leads for Lee's critically acclaimed feature "Possible Love." Lee helmed the film as part of a project by the World Health Organization and the Beijing Contemporary Art Foundation, which asked directors around the world to work on films themed on depression. "Heartbeat" will be available on Netflix from Monday, while "Possible Love" is set for release on Friday.

Prosecutors on Friday indicted Rep. Jang Kyung-tae without physical detention over allegations that he sexually harassed a female aide of another lawmaker. Jang, an independent who left the ruling Democratic Party of Korea in March over the scandal, is accused of sexually harassing the aide at a restaurant in western Seoul in October 2024, according to the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors Office. The lawmaker also faces charges of partially exposing the aide's identity in violation of the sexual violence punishment law. The indictment comes after the aide filed a complaint with the police last year. A police committee, convened at the lawmaker's request, recommended in March that he be referred to prosecutors over the allegations. The prosecution said it decided to indict Jang, who has denied the sexual harassment allegations, after questioning those involved in the case and reviewing evidence, including video footage of the incident.

North Korea on Friday denounced the ongoing combined air drills between South Korea and the United States, vowing to "thoroughly" deter the allies' exercise with force, Pyongyang's state media reported. A spokesperson at North Korea's defense ministry issued the statement as Seoul and Washington launched the biannual Freedom Flag exercise on Monday for a two-week run. "The U.S. and the ROK military warmongers launched the provocative large-scale joint air drill Freedom Flag against our state on Oct. 26 by mobilizing huge air forces," read the statement carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). ROK is short for South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea. North Korea said the drills involved the Army, Navy and Marines from allied forces and mobilized air refueling tanker and attack drones, citing them as evidence for their "military purpose" contrary to the defensive character as proclaimed by the allies. "Our armed forces will thoroughly deter threats with force and only act in such manner that the enemy states can understand," it said. North Korea has long

Police will deploy around 7,800 personnel across the nation to manage crowds celebrating Halloween over the weekend, officials said Friday, as the country prepares for its fourth Halloween since the deadly 2022 Itaewon crowd crush. The National Police Agency (NPA) said it will operate a special safety management period from Friday to Sunday. During the period, riot police, regional patrol teams and detectives will be dispatched mainly to 28 key areas, including 14 locations in Seoul. The government is seeking to prevent any recurrence of the Oct. 29, 2022, tragedy in Itaewon, a popular nightlife district in Seoul, where 159 people died in a surge through a narrow alleyway. Police will split pedestrian traffic in narrow bottleneck areas and guide crowds to walk in a single direction, officials said. If crowd density rises dangerously, police will restrict incoming traffic from the perimeter to secure open space for people to disperse. Police said they will share real-time data with relevant agencies and dispatch officers immediately to scenes in case of crowd-related reports. Officers will

A check-in system malfunction occurred at Incheon International Airport on Friday, causing major delays in passenger processing, the airport operator said. The malfunction began at 4:30 a.m. in an airline network connecting ticketing systems at the country's main gateway, leading to intermittent connectivity issues at eight airlines at Terminal 1 and five airlines at Terminal 2, according to Incheon International Airport Corp. By afternoon, ticketing was effectively halted at three airlines — China Southern Airlines, China Eastern Airlines and Air China. Long lines of passengers formed at check-in counters, with some protesting that their airlines were not informing them of expected recovery times despite their approaching departures. The airport operator said the disruption appeared to have been caused by a glitch in the global network of American aviation service provider ARINC and that it was looking for solutions.

Hanwha Systems has won a contract to develop synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites for Korea's microsatellite constellation aimed at enhancing national security and disaster response capabilities, data showed Friday. The defense solutions arm of Hanwha Group was selected for the SAR satellite development project commissioned by the state-run Agency for Defense Development (ADD), according to the Public Procurement Service. The microsatellite development project is a joint initiative involving the defense ministry, the Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA) and the Korea Coast Guard to strengthen surveillance of security threats and natural disasters on the Korean Peninsula and in surrounding waters. SAR satellites can capture images of land and sea regardless of weather conditions or time of day. Operating a constellation of small satellites allows for more frequent monitoring of specific areas and faster intelligence gathering. Hanwha Systems has previously supplied SAR sensors and data links for Korea's military reconnaissance satellites.

A Seoul district court on Friday acquitted a lawmaker of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) of anti-graft charges over a luxury bag gifted to former first lady Kim Keon Hee. The Seoul Central District Court found Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon not guilty of violating the anti-graft law over the Roger Vivier clutch bag his wife gave to the then first lady, wife of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, in March 2023. Special counsel Min Joong-ki's team had sought a one-year prison sentence for the lawmaker, accusing the couple of gifting the bag worth 2.67 million won ($2,000) in return for her support in his election as the PPP's leader earlier that month. The court, however, convicted the lawmaker's wife of the charges, sentencing her to a fine of 5 million won. Min's team had sought a six-month prison term for Kim's wife. The court rejected arguments by Kim's wife that the clutch bag was merely a customary gift, ruling that it constituted a violation of the anti-graft law given the former first lady's position. It also rejected the special counsel team's argument that the couple had conspired to

President Lee Jae Myung on Friday conferred certificates of appointment on the presidential special inspector and others. Lee presented the documents at a ceremony to 10 high-level officials and leaders of government bodies, including Choi Kil-su, who took office a week earlier as a special inspector tasked with inspecting irregularities involving the president's spouse, close relatives and senior presidential officials, presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said. The recipients included Ha Jung-woo, a former presidential secretary to Lee for artificial intelligence (AI) policy, who was newly appointed vice chairman of the presidential committee on national AI strategy. Lee chairs the committee. Ha left his former post to run for a parliamentary seat in the June by-elections but failed to win the seat. During a subsequent meeting with the recipients, Lee told Choi that the inspector has a lot to do and stressed the importance of responding promptly at the initial stage of a problem and making preemptive efforts to prevent any problems, according to Kang.

K-pop group BOYNEXTDOOR will kick off its first-ever North American tour Friday (U.S. time) with a show in Dallas, the group's agency, Koz Entertainment, said. Following the Dallas concert, the sextet is scheduled to perform in Florida, Chicago, New York, Toronto, Vancouver, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Mexico City through Nov. 24. "Every visit to the United States has given us meaningful memories and positive inspiration, so we are excited for this trip too," the group said in a release. "We will perform with passion and return with happy memories. We hope audiences look forward to our explosive energy and chemistry with them." The North American dates are part of BOYNEXTDOOR's first-ever world tour, titled "Knock on Vol. 2," which began in Seoul in July and continued across Japan. Following the North American leg, the group is set to perform in six other Asian regions into January 2027.

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun met with his Indonesian counterpart in Atlanta to discuss ways to strengthen strategic communication and expand bilateral cooperation in defense, energy and other sectors, Seoul's foreign ministry said Friday. Cho met with Indonesian Foreign Minister Arrmanatha Nasir on Thursday (U.S. time), as the two ministers were in the United States to attend the Group of 20 (G20) foreign ministers' meeting scheduled for Oct. 30-31, according to the ministry. It marked the first talks between the countries' foreign ministers since Nasir took office on Oct. 1, it added. During the talks, the two sides recalled that bilateral ties were elevated to a special comprehensive strategic partnership during Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto's state visit to Korea in April and agreed to further develop cooperation based on the upgraded relationship. They also agreed to strengthen strategic communication in the diplomatic and security fields. The ministers discussed ways to expand mutually beneficial cooperation in defense and the defense industry, trade and investment, energy and a