North Korean troops in Russia 'equipped with heavy arms'

SEOUL, November 4 (AJP) - Thousands of North Korean troops armed with assault weapons and other military gear have been deployed to border areas near Ukraine since late last month, Kyiv's intelligence agency said. According to Ukraine's Defense Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU) last weekend, Russia has moved more than 7,000 North Korean soldiers to "the frontline with the help of at least 28 military transport aircraft." North Korean soldiers, who are likely to join

November 4, 2024

Korea's opposition party agrees to scrap plan for financial investment income tax

SEOUL, November 4 (AJP) - South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party (DP) agreed Monday to scrap a plan to introduce a new tax on financial investment income, citing challenges in the country’s stock market. "We have agreed to support the government's push to withdraw the financial investment income tax," DP leader Lee Jae-myung said at the party’s Supreme Council meeting. The new tax was originally scheduled to be implemented next year, imposing

November 4, 2024

SK hynix to produce world's first 16-layer HBM chips early next year

SEOUL, November 4 (AJP) — SK hynix announced plans Monday to start production of the world’s first 16-layer high bandwidth memory (HBM) chips early next year. At the SK AI Summit 2024 in Seoul, CEO Kwak Noh-jung said the upcoming 48GB HBM3E chip, currently under development, demonstrates an 18 percent improvement in training performance and a 32 percent increase in inference capabilities over 12-layer versions in simulation studies. The chip uses Advanced MR-MUF (m

November 4, 2024

Hyosung Heavy wins transformer contract from Orsted

SEOUL, November 4 (AJP) - South Korean power equipment maker Hyosung Heavy Industries has secured a contract from Danish green energy giant Orsted to supply ultra-high voltage transformers for a British offshore wind project, the company said on Monday. The contract pushes Hyosung Heavy's European orders past 1 trillion won (US$730 million) this year, following earlier deals with Britain's National Grid and power utilities in Scotland and Norway, where the company holds the

November 4, 2024

Volpara Health wins $7.3 million U.S. defense contract for breast cancer screening

SEOUL, November 04 (AJP) - Volpara Health, a New Zealand-based subsidiary of Korean medical AI company Lunit, announced Monday it has secured a five-year, $7.3 million contract with the U.S. Defense Health Agency (DHA) to deploy its Patient Hub mammography reporting and tracking system across military health facilities serving 9.6 million beneficiaries. "Working with the Defense Health Agency is a tremendous opportunity to improve healthcare for those who serve our nation,"

November 4, 2024

Another gang rape reported in India

SEOUL, November 04 (AJP) - An assault and gang rape of a newlywed couple was reported in eastern India. According to news reports on Sunday, eight assailants gang-raped a 19-year-old woman on a railway track near Kanchrapara Railway Station in Kolkata, on Oct. 30. The attackers reportedly abducted the woman, who was walking along the train tracks with her husband around 4–5 a.m., then sexually assaulted her while physically attacking her husband. The couple had been dri

November 4, 2024

OPINION: US presidential election is too close to call. Don't blame polls

SEOUL, November 4 (AJP) - With just hours remaining until election day in the United States, pundits and the public alike are scouring public opinion polls for early signs of a result. We've had months of campaigning and hundreds of polls. Yet, there are still few conclusive takeaways other than the dissatisfying catchphrase of election analysts the world over this year: "it's too close to call." Polling isn't predictive Both campaigns have at different t

November 4, 2024

Typhoon Zamii claims 12 lives in Viet Nam after landfall

SEOUL, November 04 (AJP) - At least 12 people have died and seven were injured in Viet Nam's Quang Binh province after Typhoon Zamii made landfall, following its deadly passage through the Philippines where it killed about 150 people, local media VN Express reported on Saturday. Vietnamese authorities evacuated 9,300 households and reported 34,000 homes submerged in floodwater. The storm, combined with a cold front between Oct. 25 to 29, triggered heavy rainfall reaching 1,210mm

November 4, 2024

Japan railway firm to introduce anti-knife umbrellas amid security concerns

SEOUL, November 4 (AJP) - Western Japan Railway Company (JR West) will equip its trains with blade-resistant umbrellas to protect passengers from knife attacks, the company said Monday. The move follows several violent incidents on Japanese trains, including a July 2023 attack that wounded three people on the company's airport service. JR West plans to place two specialized umbrellas on about 600 trains by March 2025, including express services linking Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe.

November 4, 2024

Korea to begin East Sea gas drilling next month

SEOUL, November 4 (AJP) - The state-run Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC) is set to start exploratory drilling in the East Sea gas field next month, sources said Monday. The West Capella drilling ship, owned by Seadrill, is expected to arrive at Busan port around Dec. 10 and proceed to the "Blue Whale" drilling site, about 50 kilometers east of Pohang. The ship can drill to depths of 11,430 meters. U.S. oilfield services giant Schlumberger will analyze rock and gas

November 4, 2024