All posts tagged: Koreas

North Korea’s Kim Voices Full Support for Russia, Sends National Day Message to Putin, KCNA Says

North Korea’s Kim Voices Full Support for Russia, Sends National Day Message to Putin, KCNA Says

Published by Sam Flores

SEOUL, June 12 (Reuters) – North Korean ⁠leader ⁠Kim Jong Un ⁠sent a congratulatory message to Russian President ​Vladimir Putin on Russia’s National Day, voicing full support for ‌Moscow’s domestic and foreign ‌policies, state media KCNA said on Friday. Kim ⁠said ties ⁠between North Korea and Russia were strengthening into ​an alliance based on a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty, and pledged to “always be with” Russia, KCNA reported. Separately, Russian and ​North Korean officials visited a monument and cemetery of ⁠fallen ⁠Soviet Army fighters to ⁠mark ​Russia’s National Day, while Russia’s embassy hosted a reception for ​North Korean ⁠senior officials, KCNA said. Ties between the two countries have been deepening amid North Korea’s deployment of thousands of troops to support Russia’s war in Ukraine. Officials in ⁠Washington and Seoul have accused Pyongyang of supplying artillery shells, ⁠missiles and other military materials for use in Ukraine, though Moscow and Pyongyang denied arms transfers. The two countries signed the strategic partnership treaty during Putin’s visit to Pyongyang in June 2024, and also agreed to open a key …

Bodhisattvas in South Korea’s National Museum : NPR

Bodhisattvas in South Korea’s National Museum : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

The National Museum of Korea is a short walk from my home, set among bamboo groves and pagodas. Inside, the Room of Quiet Contemplation houses two of the nation’s most treasured artworks. This gilt-bronze bodhisattva statue from the early seventh century sits along with one other bodhisattva dating to the sixth century. Both are placed on a round platform in the dimly lit room. Ambient sounds suggesting deep outer — or inner — space play in a loop. The statues’ graceful outlines and cascading folds of clothes all radiate elegant simplicity. Their eyes are half shut, mouths in a faint smile, with two fingers resting on their right cheeks. Their right legs are folded, while their left legs descend toward the floor. Their eyes evoke deep contemplation of the transience of life. The smiles, according to experts on Buddhism and Buddhist art, suggest a realization of truth, and the legs represent a transition into action, to liberate all sentient beings. Visitors can scan a code to hear Blackpink singer Jisoo offer her understanding too: “This …

Exit Polls Suggest Landslide Win by South Korea’s Ruling Liberal Party in Local Elections

Exit Polls Suggest Landslide Win by South Korea’s Ruling Liberal Party in Local Elections

Published by Sam Flores

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Exit polls suggested that South Korea’s ruling liberal party was projected to win a landslide victory in Wednesday’s mayoral and other local elections, a result that if confirmed would give President Lee Jae Myung a firmer political mandate to advance his agenda. A victory by Lee’s Democratic Party had been widely expected because its main rival, the conservative People Power Party, remains in disarray after President Yoon Suk Yeol was removed from office and sentenced to life in prison over his martial law debacle in late 2024. The joint exit polls by South Korea’s three major TV stations — KBS, MBC and SBS — showed the Democratic Party was forecast to win at least 11 of the 16 mayoral and provincial gubernatorial posts up for grabs in Wednesday’s elections. The polls suggested the PPP had a clear lead in only one race, while the other four races were too close to call. “The conservatives’ support base has been fractured and weakened in the wake of Yoon’s impeachment, while the liberals’ …

South Korea’s LetinAR is building optics behind AI glasses

South Korea’s LetinAR is building optics behind AI glasses

Published by skeptic

Imagine you’re riding a motorcycle at 160 kilometers per hour when an arrow appears, floating on the road ahead, telling you exactly where to turn. No phone, no dashboard. Just your helmet, and a lens the size of a thumbnail. This is not a concept video. It’s heading to European roads as early as this year. And it’s one early glimpse of where smart glasses are heading. Over the past few years, Big Tech has been quietly (and not so quietly) placing its bets. Meta has been selling AI-enabled Ray-Ban glasses since 2023, Google is building Android XR, and Apple is expected to enter the market. Last week, Samsung was reportedly set to unveil its first AI-capable smart glasses, co-designed with Gentle Monster, at a Galaxy Unpacked event in London this July. China’s Huawei, Alibaba, Xiaomi and others are all moving too. The numbers reflect the momentum. Global AI glasses shipments surged to 8.7 million units in 2025, up more than 300% from the prior year, and analysts project that figure will cross 15 million …

Korea’s biggest manufacturers back Config, the TSMC of robot data

Korea’s biggest manufacturers back Config, the TSMC of robot data

Published by skeptic

Asia’s push into physical AI is being fueled by the same manufacturing prowess that made the region a global industrial powerhouse. Across South Korea, Japan, China and Taiwan, manufacturing remains a central pillar of economic growth. Unlike economies more heavily weighted toward services or software, these countries have long relied on large-scale production, export-driven industries, and highly optimized supply chains. That structural foundation is now shaping how artificial intelligence is adopted and where investment flows. Which makes it particularly significant that Config, a Seoul- and San Jose- based startup building the data layer for robotic foundation models (RFMs), has secured backing from the venture arms’ of South Korea’s biggest manufacturers. Samsung Venture Investment led its oversubscribed $27 million seed round at a valuation of more than $200 million, bringing Config’s total raised to $34 million. Hyundai Motor’s venture arm ZER01NE Ventures, LG Tech Ventures, and SKT America, a South Korean telco giant’s VC unit, also joined as strategic investors, alongside angel investor Pieter Abbeel (co-founder of Covariant AI and a UC Berkeley professor) and financial …

North Korea’s Kim reaffirms support for Russia’s ‘sacred’ Ukraine war

North Korea’s Kim reaffirms support for Russia’s ‘sacred’ Ukraine war

Published by Sam Flores

SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has reaffirmed Pyongyang’s support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, vowing to help Moscow achieve victory in its “sacred” war, state media reported on Monday (Apr 27). Pyongyang has sent missiles, munitions and thousands of troops to assist Russia in Ukraine, and analysts say Moscow is sending financial aid, military technology, food and energy to the diplomatically isolated country in return. A string of high-level Russian officials have visited North Korea in recent days, with Defence Minister Andrey Belousov meeting Kim on Sunday, according to official statements. North Korea “will as ever fully support the policy of the Russian Federation to defend the national sovereignty, territorial integrity and security interests”, Kim told Belousov, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Kim expressed “belief that the Russian army and people would surely win a victory in the just sacred war”, KCNA reported. Both sides said their delegations had discussed deeper military ties, with Belousov saying Moscow was ready to sign a cooperation plan covering the period from 2027 to …

North Korea’s hijack of one of the web’s most used open source projects was likely weeks in the making

North Korea’s hijack of one of the web’s most used open source projects was likely weeks in the making

Published by skeptic

A North Korean cyberattack that last Monday briefly hijacked one of the most widely used open source projects on the web took weeks to carry out as part of a long-running campaign to target the code’s top developers. The hijacking of the Axios project on March 31 was in part successful because it relied on well-resourced hackers building rapport and trust with their intended target over a long period of time to increase their odds of a successful eventual compromise. This kind of hack highlights the security challenges that developers of popular open source projects can face, at a time when government hackers and cybercriminals alike are targeting widely used projects for their ability to access, in some cases, millions of devices worldwide. Jason Saayman, who maintains the popular Axios project that developers use to connect their apps to the internet, provided a post-mortem with a timeline of the hack. He shared that the hackers began their targeting campaign around two weeks before eventually gaining control of his computer to push out malicious code. By …

South Korea’s Lee Says He Seeks to Work Together With France on AI, Nuclear Energy

South Korea’s Lee Says He Seeks to Work Together With France on AI, Nuclear Energy

Published by Sam Flores

SEOUL, April ⁠2 (Reuters) – ⁠South ⁠Korean President Lee ​Jae Myung ‌said ties with ‌France ⁠must ⁠go beyond partnership and become ​a pursuit of ​strategic collaboration that includes ⁠artificial ⁠intelligence and ⁠nuclear energy ​which are key ​to ⁠innovation, according to a ⁠text of his comments to Le ⁠Figaro released on Thursday. French President Emmanuel Macron begins a two-day visit to ⁠South Korea on Thursday. (Reporting by Jack Kim; ​Editing by ​Chris Reese) Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters. Photos You Should See – March 2026 Source link

North Korea’s Kim oversees test of high-thrust engine: KCNA

North Korea’s Kim oversees test of high-thrust engine: KCNA

Published by Sam Flores

SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw a ground test of an upgraded solid-fuel rocket engine, state media reported on Sunday (Mar 29), in the latest sign of Pyongyang’s push to enhance its strategic weapons arsenal. Solid-fuel engines enable faster missile launches as they require little preparation before ignition and defence experts believe North Korea is planning to use them for the intercontinental ballistic missiles it is developing. The test of the solid-fuel engine made of composite carbon fibre material, was “part of the national defence development plan in the period of the new five-year plan”, Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. Pursuing such high-thrust engines “conforms with the national strategy and the military demand for modernising the strategic forces”, Mr Kim was quoted as saying by KCNA, which did not disclose the date or location of the test. The latest engine being tested produced a higher thrust of 2,500 kilonewtons, KCNA reported. The development demonstrates North Korea’s “resolve to acquire missiles capable of hitting targets around the globe”, Dr Hong Min, …