US prosecutors have agreed to drop charges against a former CIA analyst accused of working as an agent of the South Korean government in exchange for designer handbags, high-priced dinners and other luxury goods. Sue Mi Terry, who had also served on the White House National Security Council, was charged in 2024 for failing to register as a foreign agent and disclosing US government information to South Korean intelligence. A court filing Tuesday showed the Justice Department has struck a deferre

North Korea could strengthen its military drone capabilities by gaining technical expertise through workers deployed to a major Russian drone production facility, potentially posing a new security threat to South Korea and US forces in the region, a US think tank report showed Wednesday. The report, jointly published by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and the George W. Bush Institute, examined the security implications of North Korea's involvement in Russia's drone manu

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that South Korea will invest $50 billion in a massive liquefied natural gas project in Alaska as part of an investment agreement with Washington, despite uncertainty over Seoul's participation. "This 50 Billion Dollar Infrastructure Investment from The Republic of Korea is part of their Trade and Investment Deal with me," Trump wrote on Truth Social, while describing his visit to Alaska for a campaign rally on Tuesday. The remarks were the latest from the

US Forces Korea Commander Gen. Xavier Brunson said Wednesday that "conditions have changed" while stressing the requirements in the transfer of a conditions-based wartime operation control (OPCON) from the United States to South Korea. "Because the conditions have changed, because we've changed our plan, we have new standards which we have to uphold," Brunson said while sharing his thoughts on the topic of OPCON transfer during the annual Indo-Pacific Summit hosted by the Gold Institute for Inte

After the 2001 recession, the Federal Reserve cut its policy rate, eventually to 1 percent in 2003. As the economy recovered, in 2004, it began to remove that extraordinary support, saying in June that policy accommodation "can be removed at a pace that is likely to be measured." Short-term rates rose as planned. Yet in February 2005, Alan Greenspan, then the Fed's chairman, told the US Senate that long-term interest rates had fallen even though the Fed had raised short-term rates by 1.5 percent

A brief statement from an unidentified senior US administration official has triggered controversy in South Korea. A possible expression of concern over intelligence cooperation has been interpreted by some politicians and commentators as a crisis in the ROK-US alliance. Some have even demanded the dismissal of the unification minister and the National Intelligence Service director. The controversy is troubling, less because of Washington’s words than Seoul’s interpretation. It exposes a tendenc

Unification Minister Chung Dong-young told reporters at Government Complex Seoul on Monday that there is no problem with the South Korea-US alliance amid controversy over Washington’s restrictions on sharing intelligence with Seoul. Chung rejected Washington’s assessment that his remarks about nuclear facilities in North Korea's Kusong, North Pyongan Province, had disclosed classified US intelligence, calling it a “misunderstanding” and insisting that “the US is wrong.” At a National Assembly au

The planned 920 billion won ($688 million) takeover of Wemade has been delayed by two months after a consortium backed by Chinese game company Kingnet postponed payment of the remaining 828 billion won. According to Wemade's regulatory filing on Wednesday, the scheduled closing date for the sale of shares held by Chairman Park Kwan-ho had been pushed back to December 30 from October 30. Under the deal signed on June 30 this year, Park agreed to sell his entire stake in Wemade -- 13.35 million sh

SK Group is considering a strategic investment in US nuclear power giant Westinghouse Electric through a consortium with other Korean companies, according to reports Wednesday. Samsung C&T, Hyundai Engineering & Construction, and Doosan Enerbility are among the Korean companies reportedly considering joining a consortium being led by SK. The potential investment comes after Seoul and Washington agreed that up to $120 billion of Korea's $200 billion investment fund would be used to build eight la

An AI-assisted song has climbed into the upper ranks of Melon’s Top 100 chart, drawing fresh attention to unresolved questions over copyright and transparency in music generated with artificial intelligence. “The Adult I Dreamed Of,” by Meomuru, has risen to No. 3 on Melon’s Top 100 as of Wednesday. Released in June, the song recently gained traction after being widely used as background music in short-form videos on Korean social media. However, the voice heard on the track does not belong to a

A father in his 40s has been detained on suspicion of beating his 2-month-old daughter to death after becoming angry when she would not sleep, police said Wednesday. The Suwon District Court issued an arrest warrant for the man on charges of child abuse resulting in death, citing concerns that the suspect could flee or destroy evidence. As the suspect left Yongin Dongbu Police Station at around 8:30 a.m. that day to attend the warrant hearing, he said, "I'm sorry" when reporters asked whether he

INCHEON — The growing international visibility of Korean literature has opened new doors for translators, but sustaining that momentum will require more than celebrated authors and award-winning books. Translators need greater support, more freedom to choose the works they translate and an industry that recognizes the demands of their profession, three prominent literary translators said at an international colloquium in Incheon. At "Translation: Text in Transit," a colloquium organized Oct. 8 b

A2O Lite member Aijing has been drawn into controversy just days after the rookie girl group’s debut, after allegations surfaced that a company run by her parents failed to pay former employees’ wages. Aijing, a 13-year-old Chinese member of A2O Lite, drew attention at the group’s debut showcase in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, Monday, for her dance skills and styling that some said resemble BoA during the early years of her career. The following day, however, Chinese media reported allegations inv

Figure skater Cha Jun-hwan will star in a new sitcom, marking his return to scripted television for the first time in 18 years. Korean streaming platform Tving announced Wednesday that its original sitcom “The Gungjeon Land” is slated for release in 2027. The series follows part-time workers struggling to make ends meet behind the glitzy facade of an amusement park. Cha will play Seong Dae-han, a part-timer who newly joins the park staff. The casting news arrives a day after Cha announced he wou

Taemin's concert in Seattle later this month has been canceled due to US visa delays affecting key touring and production personnel, prompting organizers to postpone a Korean cultural and consumer goods exhibition featuring 31 Korean brands. The K-pop singer was scheduled to headline the finale concert of K-Era Fest at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington, Oct. 25. The performance was separate from his world tour, which had already seen six US stops postponed last month over similar visa