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The latest news, analysis and opinion on Seoul. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
Head of Government
Mayor Oh Se-hoon
Members of Samsung Electronics’ largest labour union chant slogans during a protest against the company’s compensation levels in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, last month. Photo: Reuters
South Korea

South Korea weighs the cost of stepping into Samsung’s US$400,000 bonus row

Seoul is considering using a rarely used emergency power to halt a strike that could cost the economy US$67 billion.

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North Korea

North Korea to turn southern border into ‘impregnable fortress’

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South Korea

South Korea weighs arbitration to avoid Samsung semiconductor plant strike

North Korea

North Korean footballers arrive in South, match tickets sell out

The rare visit comes as North Korea has in ‌recent years labelled the South its ‘most hostile state’.

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North Korean Naegohyang Women’s FC soccer team arrives at the Incheon International Airport in Incheon, South Korea, on Sunday. Photo: EPA-EFE
South Korea

Reality deficit: how South Korea lost the plot on AI

A viral ‘baseball goddess’, a wolf that never was and a deepfake epidemic. Generative AI is rewriting South Korea’s reality.

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South Korea

South Korea uses AI to prevent suicides, track crime on Seoul’s Han River bridges

AI sounds an alarm if it identifies a person staying for more than 300 seconds in a bridge’s ‘loitering zones’, allowing humans to swoop in.

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2026 Xi-Trump summit

Boeing nears ‘large’ China orders as Trump and Xi forge new trade board: Bessent

Washington and Beijing will discuss the board to manage commercial ties, and there is a plan to ‘pregame’ investments to avoid national security blocks.

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President Xi Jinping shakes hands with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as US President Donald Trump looks on during a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Thursday. Photo: AFP
Japan

Japan-South Korea ‘comfort women’ row stoked by statues abroad

The removal of wartime sex slave memorials in Germany and New Zealand has electrified certain LDP hardliners, risking a diplomatic rift.

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Diplomacy

Opinion | North Korea is not Iran. The same pressure tactics won’t work

North Korea’s nuclear reality and the overlapping interests of the US, China and Russia make tension reduction a prerequisite.

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South Korea

‘Like whale bones’: South Korea’s war memorial sparks conflict over symbolism

Critics argue the Korean war memorial should not be in a space in Seoul long associated with pro-democracy protests and its imperial past.

A row of 23 stone monuments in central Seoul representing South Korea and 22 other countries that fought alongside one another during the 1950-53 Korean war. Photo: Park Chan-kyong
2026 Xi-Trump summit

Leaving so soon? US, China hold briefest trade talks yet before leaders’ summit

The two delegations met in Seoul’s Incheon Airport, spoke for a few hours and skipped the press conferences typically held after earlier sessions.

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Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng shakes hands with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent prior to trade talks in South Korea on Wednesday. Photo: Xinhua
South Korea

South Korea signals ‘phased’ support for US-led Hormuz mission after ship attack

Defence Minister Ahn said the support could include political backing, personnel dispatches and sharing of information and military assets.

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2026 Xi-Trump summit

China-US trade talks kick off in Seoul ahead of high-profile leaders’ summit

Trade deals, export controls on critical minerals and the Iran war likely to be talking points as senior officials sit down for negotiations.

2026 Xi-Trump summit

US-China negotiations seek a quick Seoul search for deals ahead of Trump’s visit

Setting stage for presidential summit with Xi in Beijing, Bessent and He to meet in South Korea, and the ‘3 Bs’ could be on the cards.

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Vice-Premier He Lifeng (right) gestures alongside US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent before a meeting to discuss trade relations and tariffs on May 10, 2025, just over one year ago. Photo: AFP
2026 Xi-Trump summit

China readies for Trump visit amid rebound in trade growth

Surging Chinese exports will bolster the nation’s position with the US as the two countries ready for trade talks and a presidential summit this week.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (left) and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (right) last year. Photo: Keystone via AP
2026 Xi-Trump summit

China, US confirm Seoul trade talks days before Trump-Xi summit in Beijing

Meeting follows Paris round in March and a video call in April as both sides prepare for Trump’s state visit.

South Korea

‘Unidentified aircraft’ hit Korean cargo ship in Hormuz on Monday: Seoul

Iran has denied responsibility for the attack, with its embassy in Seoul stating that it rejects and denies any allegations of involvement.

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US-China relations

Opinion | China shouldn’t view a tired US as signifying a Europe ready to pivot

As fractures within the US’ network of alliances deepen, China’s strategic window opens a little wider, with some key caveats.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
South Korea

‘She was just a human’: the world forgot K-pop’s suicides. These fans never did

Years after three high-profile K-pop suicides shook South Korea’s idol machine, the grief – and guilt – remains.

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China trade

How China’s sharper tech edge forces South Korea to rethink old industrial ties

Scholars urge a pivot to shared AI and EV standards and cooperation, while an upgraded China-South Korea free-trade pact is deemed vital.

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North Korea

North Korea to move artillery capable of striking Seoul to border with South

The large-calibre rifled gun has a range of over 60km, posing a serious threat to Seoul, which is only about 40km to 50km from the border.

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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspects a munitions factory on Wednesday. Photo: KCNA/EPA
South Korea

South Korea rejects Trump’s claim that ship ‘decided to go it alone’

Iran says it ‘firmly rejects and categorically denies’ allegations that it was responsible for the explosion on board the HMM Namu.

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The Panama-flagged HMM Namu is seen off the coast of Guangzhou, China, on January 5. Photo: HMM/Reuters
South Korea

South Korean court cuts former prime minister Han’s jail term to 15 years

A lower court had sentenced Han in January to 23 years’ imprisonment for his role in the 2024 martial law declaration.

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South Korea

South Korean judge in Kim Keon-hee’s appeals trial found dead days after verdict

Shin Jong-oh, who was found with severe injuries on the ground near the Seoul High Court, had a suicide note in his pocket, police say.

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Defence

Can Korea’s most advanced fighter KF-21 compete with China, the US and Europe?

Recent roll-out puts South Korea in elite group of countries capable of indigenously developing advanced supersonic combat aircraft.

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Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) recently unveiled the first production unit of the KF-21 Boramae, a 4.5-generation fighter jet. Photo: Handout
South Korea

Seoul says ‘explosion and fire’ on South Korean ship in Hormuz strait

The vessel is a cargo ship of almost 180 metres (590 feet) sailing under the flag of Panama.

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Cargo ships at sea near the Strait of Hormuz, as viewed from a rocky shoreline near Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates. Photo: AP
Asia travel

How Seoul’s strangest subway station made escalator weddings a thing

After plans for it to become a major transport hub fell through, Seoul’s grand Noksapyeong station pivoted. Here’s its fascinating story.

North Korea

Pitch perfect diplomacy? North Korean footballers head to South Korea

The visit by Naegohyang Women’s FC to South Korea’s Suwon for a competitive match does not signal a thaw in inter-Korea ties, analysts say.

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