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Iran warns S. Korea against Hormuz deployment as U.S. pressure builds
SEOUL, September 06 (AJP) - A senior Iranian official has warned that any South Korean military involvement against Iran in the Strait of Hormuz would be regarded as participation in the war, raising the stakes for Seoul as U.S. President Donald Trump steps up pressure on the ally to contribute to U.S.-led security efforts. The unnamed official made the warning in an interview with Al Mayadeen, a Lebanon-based med
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Lee heads to France for state visit to deepen strategic cooperation
SEOUL, September 06 (AJP) - President Lee Jae Myung left for France on Sunday for a state visit aimed at expanding cooperation in advanced industries and strengthening ties with Europe. The visit comes at the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron, who asked Lee during his trip to South Korea in April to co-chair the Lumière Summit, an international film and audiovisual industry gathering in souther
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Seoul faces rising debt burden despite improved debt ratio
SEOUL, September 06 (AJP) - South Korea's debt burden is set to grow through 2030, even as its national debt-to-GDP ratio is projected to improve. The country's national debt is forecast to reach 1,734.1 trillion won ($1.28 trillion) by 2030, up from 1,412.8 trillion won this year, according to the Ministry of Planning and Budget's 2026 to 2030 fiscal plan. Of that amount, 1,312.3 trillion won, or 7
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Dementia to affect more than 1 in 10 elderly South Koreans by 2040
SEOUL, September 06 (AJP) - More than one in 10 South Koreans aged 65 or older are projected to have dementia by 2040 as the country’s population ages rapidly, government estimates showed Sunday. The dementia prevalence rate among people aged 65 and older is expected to reach 10.34 percent in 2040, according to projections by the Ministry of Health and Welfare based on national population forecasts and a nat
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Korean rescuers pull Chinese worker alive from Nepal tunnel
SEOUL, September 05 (AJP) -A Chinese worker was pulled alive from a hydropower tunnel in Nepal on Saturday, 10 days after catastrophic floods swept through the Himalayas, in the first successful live rescue involving South Korea's 44-member disaster relief team.
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Will America risk New York for Seoul?
SEOUL, September 03 (AJP) - U.S. President Donald Trump wants to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and ordered scale-back in U.S.-South Korea military drills that anger Pyongyang and cost Washington heavily, reigniting a long-running question in Seoul: Should South Korea arm itself with nuclear weapons? Once taboo, the idea is gaining broader public acceptance. Sixty-five percent of South Koreans support the country possessing nuclear weapons, while 30 percent oppose it, according to the la
by Lee Jung-woo
Uzbekistan looks to its Islamic golden age to build a new future
SEOUL, September 02 (AJP) - The Center for Islamic Civilization, sprawling across a site roughly the size of 14 soccer fields, embodies in its glittering magnificence and grandeur what “New Uzbekistan” envisions: ushering a young, increasingly digital population into the AI age while keeping it firmly anchored in Islamic heritage and spirituality. The sprawling cultural and research complex cost about $161.8 million to build, according to a government construction directorate. Its t
Chip windfall finally arrives on the FX front
SEOUL, September 04 (AJP) - The South Korean won is looking entirely different from the first half, closing at its strongest level in 14 months Friday as a swelling current-account surplus increasingly offsets heavy overseas equity investment and other capital outflows, giving authorities room to absorb a reported $20 billion in dollars from SK hynix's landmark U.S. share sale without reversing the currency's rally. The dollar fell 8.9 won to close Friday's daytime trading at 1,350.
AI spending binge steepens Korea's bond curve
SEOUL, September 03 (AJP) - As the race for AI supremacy sends government and corporate spending into the stratosphere, investors are demanding more to lend for decades — a shift showing up starkly in South Korea, where yields have risen progressively faster toward the long end of the government bond curve. The yield chart over the past year shows an increasingly steep repricing toward longer maturities. The 30-year yield has climbed the most, touching a record 4.751 percent in August, wh
Seoul property tax to spread to nearly all districts by 2030 if home prices keep rising
'Busan sickness' fuels Taiwan travel boom to Busan
