• Canada's submarine choice extends beyond hardware SEOUL, June 19 (AJP) - Canada's plan to acquire up to 12 new submarines is entering a decisive phase, but mounting concerns over labor shortages, industrial capacity and military interoperability suggest choosing a winning bidder may be the easiest part of the program.
• Drawing the hairline: Korea debates insuring hair loss  SEOUL, June 19 (AJP) -Going bald is personal matter, except in South Korea. It is quickly turning into a political and social hot potato.
• Montenegro seeks to adopt Kazakh digital governance model SEOUL, June 20 (AJP) - Montenegrin President Jakov Milatovic met with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in Astana on June 19 to discuss adopting the digital transformation technologies of Kazakhstan to modernize his country's public administration. According to the Kazakhstan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the talks mark a significant shift in international diplomacy as European nations increasingly see
• World Cup 26: Korea's fate hinges on match with South Africa SEOUL, June 19 (AJP) - South Korea's 1-0 defeat to Mexico was not fatal. But it exposed a weakness that Hong Myung-bo's side must fix quickly.
• World Cup 26: Korea's World Cup ritual finds a new home SEOUL, June 19 (AJP) - Gwanghwamun Square may remain South Korea's spiritual home of World Cup cheering, but on a sweltering Friday many fans chose a different way to experience the national team's second World Cup.
• World Cup 26: Wave of red and faces of hope and disbelief SEOUL, June 19 (AJP) - At Gwanghwamun Square, the familiar wave of Korean red was joined by a new shade of lavender purple — matching Team Korea's away uniform — and occasional splashes of daring Mexican green.

AJP Briefing

• Montenegro seeks to adopt Kazakh digital governance model SEOUL, June 20 (AJP) - Montenegrin President Jakov Milatovic met with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in Astana on June 19 to discuss adopting the digital transformation technologies of Kazakhstan to modernize his country's public administration. According to the Kazakhstan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the talks mark a significant shift in international diplomacy as European nations increasingly seek administrative blueprints from emerging technological hubs outside the West. The sum
• KOSPI gives up record rally as profit-taking, Gulf jitters cool momentum SEOUL, June 19 (AJP) — South Korea's benchmark KOSPI surrendered a record-breaking rally Friday, retreating sharply from an all-time high above 9,300 as investors rushed to lock in profits after one of the fastest market surges in the country's history. The KOSPI closed down 0.13 percent at 9,052.42 after soaring nearly 3 percent earlier in the session and briefly crossing the 9,300 threshold for the first time ever. The benchmark later reversed course, falling as much as 2.56 pe
• Won swings near 1,540 before ending flat; bonds weaken on hawkish Fed SEOUL, June 19 (AJP) - The Korean won erased most of its intraday losses Friday after briefly approaching the 1,540 level against the dollar, while government bonds weakened as a hawkish Federal Reserve outlook kept pressure on Seoul’s financial markets. The won closed daytime trading at 1,527.0 per dollar, up 0.1 won from the previous session, according to Seoul foreign exchange market data. The currency came under heavy pressure early in the session as the dollar strengthened on expect
• Korea's C/A surplus with U.S. falls and US stockholdings doubles SEOUL, June 19 (AJP) - South Korea’s current account surplus with the United States fell for the first time in six years in 2025 amid rising cost of intellectual property and artificial intelligence services, central bank data showed Friday. The data showed that Korea’s goods surplus with the United States remained strong, but was increasingly offset by a wider services deficit and weaker income receipts. According to preliminary regional balance of payments data from the Bank of K

ASIA Insight

• Many analysts see Iran, not Washington, as the strategic winner of the war SEOUL, June 18 (AJP) - President Donald Trump hailed the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding as a diplomatic victory that would prevent Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons and restore stability to global energy markets. Many international relations scholars and security analysts see it differently. Several experts interviewed by AJP said the 109-day conflict ultimately strengthened Iran's strategic leverage, exposed limits to American military power and accelerated shifts already under by Lee Jung-woo
• How US-Iran ceasefire will reshape Asia and global economy The world breathed a collective sigh of relief this week when the United States and Iran agreed to a sudden ceasefire. The newly released 14-point Memorandum of Understanding officially hits pause on a highly explosive conflict, bringing quiet to the Middle East. However, when we look closely at the actual promises made on paper, the deal is quite shocking. The agreement requires the U.S. to immediately lift its naval blockade, unfreeze billions of dollars in restricted Iranian money, and allow by Park Sae-jin

AJP Watch

• World Cup 26: Home magic as Mexico makes knockouts, Canada first win SEOUL, June 19 (AJP) - The second round of group matches at the 2026 FIFA World Cup began to sharpen the picture in Groups A and B on Thursday local time, or Friday in Korea. Mexico became the first of the tournament’s 48 teams to secure a place in the knockout stage, while Canada earned the first World Cup win in its history and Switzerland also surged in Group B. South Korea, meanwhile, lost 1-0 to Mexico and pushed their knockout-stage fate to the final group match against South Afric
• World Cup 26: Korea seek win over Mexico to tighten grip on Group A SEOUL, June 18 (AJP) - South Korea face Mexico on Friday morning in Korea with a chance to move closer to the Round of 32, though the calculation will first be shaped by the result between Czechia and South Africa. South Korea and Mexico both opened Group A with wins. Mexico beat South Africa 2-0 in the tournament opener, while South Korea defeated Czechia 2-1. That left the two sides level on three points, with Mexico ahead on goal difference. The match kicks off at Guadalajara Stadium in Za

AJP Focus

• Inside KF-21, a test pilot pushes Korea's indigenous fighter to its limits SEOUL, June 19 (AJP) - The moment can come low above the ground, when the aircraft is turning hard and the pilot's vision begins to fade. For Maj. Song Min-seok, a test pilot for South Korea's KF-21 Boramae fighter jet, one of the most demanding parts of the job is not flying fast. It is holding the aircraft at the edge of its limits long enough to finish the test — even as his body tells him to stop. "When you keep turning under G-force, blood moves down toward your legs an
• Packaging bottleneck to decide winner in Korea's HBM4E race SEOUL, June 18 (AJP) - SK hynix and Samsung Electronics are locking horns to seize an early lead in next-generation AI memory by shipping samples of their 12-layer HBM4E chips to major customers such as Nvidia for future data-center GPUs including Rubin Ultra. But as the race moves beyond raw memory performance, industry watchers say the real bottleneck may lie elsewhere: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s advanced packaging capacity. SK hynix said Wednesday it had shipped samples of