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South Korea

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South Korea
South Korea
Latest news, in-depth features and opinion on South Korea, covering politics, economy, society, K-pop and Seoul’s relationships with North Korea, Japan, China and the United States.
Capital
Seoul
Head of State
Lee Jae-myung
Lee Jae Myung
Head of Government
Prime Minister Kim Min-seok
A miniature model of the White House is seen at the Omni Grove Park Hotel during the Group of 20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ meeting in Asheville, North Carolina, on August 31. Finance leaders from the G20 major economies opened talks at the US-hosted gathering, with the Trump administration seeking to escalate economic pressure on Iran amid a renewed exchange of fire with Tehran. Photo: AFP
G20

Macroscope | As US leadership proves unreliable, Asia needs to start focusing on itself

Asian policymakers should start laying the groundwork for a new organisation that has this region’s interests at its core.

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Venice Film Festival

‘Woman Unknown’ wins Gold Lion at Venice Film Festival

Hong Kong culture

Opinion | Hong Kong’s contemporary artists deserve a bigger stage in its museums

North Korea

North Korea launches missile salvo after US-South Korea-Japan drills

The ballistic missiles, which flew about 250km, were fired despite Donald Trump’s recent push for talks with Kim Jong-un.

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A television screen shows a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test at a railway station in Seoul, South Korea, on Saturday morning. Photo: AFP
2026 Xi-Trump summits

Exclusive | AI fight shadows final preparations for Xi Jinping’s White House visit

Chinese side is said to view US requests as limiting both harmful outcomes from AI and Beijing’s ability to develop its own capabilities.

Yoon Suk-yeol

Yoon Suk-yeol acquitted in case linked to South Korean marine’s death

The court ruled it was unclear whether Yoon deliberately intended to disrupt the investigation into the death of the marine.

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Ant Group

Ant to let AI agents shop via 10 digital wallets, from AlipayHK to Starryblu

With open-source release of Agentic Mobile Protocol and deals with credit-card giants, company bids for key role in global standards.

Protocol’s release will allow AI agents to enter existing mobile payment systems as "trusted actors”, according to the company. Photo: LightRocket via Getty Images
Japan

Can a US$6 trillion South Korea-Japan economic bloc succeed?

A South Korean tycoon’s proposal could create the world’s fourth-biggest economic bloc, if both countries put history behind them.

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Taiwan

Trump threat to Taiwan’s Washington office sparks debate over island’s US policy

Ahead of expected Xi-Trump summit, some in Taiwan question whether Taipei’s funding of American think tanks has become a political liability.

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North Korea

Does North Korea’s Kim Ju-ae have a younger sibling? Seoul thinks so

Seoul’s spy agency says it believes the daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has a ‘younger sibling of unknown gender’.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his daughter Kim Ju-ae attend a military parade at Kim Il-sung Square in Pyongyang in February. Photo: KCNA via KNS / AFP
2026 Xi-Trump summits

China ready to help Trump meet North Korea’s Kim

Donald Trump’s efforts to meet Kim Jong-un have received a boost from China even amid doubts about what such an encounter could achieve.

US President Donald Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong-un in June 2019. Photo: Reuters
Indonesia

Indonesia orders Netflix to pay US$4.3m in music royalties or face shutdown

Netflix has agreed to pay music royalties it owed in South Korea and faces a tax demand on its income in Australia, media reports say.

SCMP Highlights

When Hong Kong films embraced sex, sugar’s link to dementia: 7 Lifestyle stories

From Hong Kong’s Category III era to a Korean auteur’s new masterpiece, here are seven stories from SCMP’s recent reporting.

Apple

Apple enters a crowded foldable smartphone market in China – can it beat Huawei?

The new iPhone Duo flagship handset is trending on Weibo but faces fierce domestic competition and local hurdles.

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Apple’s foldable iPhone Duo is unveiled during Apple’s special event at the Steve Jobs Theater in Apple Park in Cupertino, California, United States, on Wednesday. Photo: EPA
Hong Kong stock market

Hong Kong investors face volatility without prospect of state help

State buying appears to quash panic selling in mainland China-listed shares, but Hong Kong’s unsettled market can’t expect government intervention.

Bull statues overlook Exchange Square in Hong Kong on February 3. Photo: Reuters
Suicides in Hong Kong

Letters | Suicide prevention in Hong Kong: let’s normalise reaching out for help

Readers discuss how the community can work together to prevent suicides, sentencing in cases of sex crimes, and responsible pet ownership.

China's military weapons

Beijing boosts Taiwan-facing firepower with brigade-level 155mm howitzers

Upgrade for Eastern Theatre Command’s 71st Group Army streamlines PLA’s firepower across land and sea as US artillery programmes lag.

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South China Sea

Beijing tells Manila to ‘stop lying’ after minister exposes South China Sea note

At Seoul Defence Dialogue, Gilberto Teodoro Jnr brands China’s handwritten memo on arbitration ruling as ‘coercion and bullying’.

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Gilberto Teodoro Jnr read aloud from a note from a Chinese emissary, prompting China’s foreign ministry to protest and accuse Manila of "grandstanding and lying". Photo: X/ Department of National Defence - Philippines
UAE

Caught between US and Iran, South Korea weighs Hormuz role

Seoul is sending a fact-finding mission to the UAE as it balances Washington’s security requests with warnings of Iranian retaliation.

US, Israel war on Iran

South Korea sends fact-finding team to assess Strait of Hormuz conditions

The defence ministry says the move ‘does not presuppose an actual deployment’.

Science

Could China sanction US for illegal international seabed mining? A study says yes

But issue is said to create tension for Beijing between defending the multilateral system and protecting its own access to critical minerals.

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Experimental mining has been found to leave ecological effects on the deep ocean that last decades. Photo: Shutterstock
Thailand

12 South Koreans arrested in Thailand scam centre crackdown

Police say the alleged scammers entered Thailand from a neighbouring country and rented a luxury house south of Bangkok.

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A Royal Thai Army soldier walks beyond barbed wire outside hospital buildings of an abandoned scam centre in O’Smach town on the Thai-Cambodian border, on Monday. Photo: AFP
Hong Kong economy

Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou retains crown as world’s top innovation hub

Hong Kong government says ranking by UN body reaffirms Greater Bay Area’s ‘outstanding innovative capacity’ and strong financing ecosystem.

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SCMP Highlights

Cambodia scam gangs; viral Jennie clip tests South Korea law: 7 Asia highlights

From Japan warships attracting US interest to viral clip of Blackpink’s Jennie, here are a few highlights from SCMP’s recent Asia reporting.

Japan

Can Japan, South Korea move past the ‘comfort women’ issue?

The issue is set to continue rattling ties between Tokyo and Seoul even as they seek to find common ground on security and trade issues.

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Protesters hold up banners during a rally against Japanese colonial rule, in front of a statue symbolising a wartime sex slave near the Japanese embassy in Seoul, in 2021. Photo: AP
North Korea

What North Korea’s new warship reveals about Kim’s aim to secure nearby waters

Kim’s promised ‘important plans’ that will deepen the ‘concerns of the enemies’ are likely to be nuclear, observers say.

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North Korean sailors march past the Kang Kon during its commissioning ceremony at Wonsan Port on Sunday. Photo: KCNA / AFP
SCMP Highlights

China won’t permit AI dominance; South Korea’s deepfake crisis: 5 weekend reads

From top UK universities’ priorities to China’s graduates seeking German vocational training, here are five stories you may have missed over the weekend.

Art

Busan Biennale 2026: a ‘Dissident Chorus’ of sound, art and politics

This year, South Korea’s oldest biennale explores politics through sound, performance and art, but does it truly challenge the status quo?

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