Asian shares are mixed after a retreat on Wall St
Currency traders work at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Aug. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
· Chan Ho Him
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Newest first · UTC+11:00In China first, project breathes new life into ageing wind turbines
State-owned recycling group says work has begun on remanufacturing 25 turbines in Gansu province
· He Huifeng
In China first, project breathes new life into ageing wind turbines
State-owned recycling group says work has begun on remanufacturing 25 turbines in Gansu province
· He Huifeng
Dreame sets out Korea expansion plan, launches new robot vacuum
Chinese home appliance maker Dreame Technology said Friday it plans to expand beyond robot vacuum cleaners in South Korea, positioning the country as a key market for premium small appliances and artificial intelligence-powered smart-home products.
· Jo He-rim
S. Korea's social life runs through bars: reports
South Koreans lean on bars for socializing more than drinkers elsewhere, according to two new reports commissioned by AB InBev, parent company of Oriental Brewery, as global alcohol volumes hold more than 30 percent above early-2000s levels amid declining per-capita consumption.
· No Kyung-min
Middle East deployment leaves Asia-Pacific without US aircraft carrier
The USS George Washington transits the Arabian Sea on Aug. 20. The aircraft carrier was forward-deployed to Yokosuka, Japan, in 2024 and has since conducted extensive joint exercises with that country's Maritime Self-Defense Force. (U.S. Navy via Reuters)
· Staff Writer
Asia-Pacific left without US aircraft carrier after Middle East deployment
The USS George Washington transits the Arabian Sea on Aug. 20. The aircraft carrier was forward-deployed to Yokosuka, Japan, in 2024 and has since conducted extensive joint exercises with that country's Maritime Self-Defense Force. (U.S. Navy via Reuters)
· Staff Writer
Ex-Google engineer’s conviction for stealing AI secrets partially overturned
AI. A person visits the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, China July 26, 2025
· Victor Barreiro Jr.
What's the first thing foreign tourists grab at Incheon Airport?
The first purchase many international travelers make in Korea is not a SIM card. It happens at a convenience store in the arrivals hall, and it usually involves a transit card and a plastic tub of banana milk.
· Hong Yoo
Kim Jong Un’s sister mocks South Korea as U.S. ‘puppet’ over drill cutback
North Korea mocked South Korea for being a U.S. “puppet” after U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally curtailed the two countries’ joint military drills.
· Soo-hyang Choi
No sweat: Japanese men turn to hair removal in scorching summer
Summer is peak demand season at a men’s grooming clinic in Japan, where appointments are becoming harder to get as scores seek to rid themselves of body hair for relief from brutal, sweltering heat.
· Hina Suzuki
International study finds solar panels in China could be harming birds
The researchers found a direct correlation between greater government support for solar and the loss of biodiversity
· Victoria Bela
International study finds solar panels in China could be harming birds
The researchers found a direct correlation between greater government support for solar and the loss of biodiversity
· Victoria Bela
Hong Kong’s stock benchmark may see more tech additions as review result looms
AI developers MiniMax and Z.ai are top candidates for Hang Seng Index inclusion as compiler aims to boost tech exposure
· Zhang Shidong
Hong Kong’s stock benchmark may see more tech additions as review result looms
AI developers MiniMax and Z.ai are top candidates for Hang Seng Index inclusion as compiler aims to boost tech exposure
· Zhang Shidong
Real-life ‘gold-devouring beast’: Chinese girl, 5, hospitalised after swallowing gold bar
Incident sparks viral online memes, as Chinese parents famously nickname their expensive children with this specific term
· Fran Lu
Real-life ‘gold-devouring beast’: Chinese girl, 5, hospitalised after swallowing gold bar
Incident sparks viral online memes, as Chinese parents famously nickname their expensive children with this specific term
· Fran Lu
(LEAD) S. Korea-U.S. combined exercise to conclude ahead of schedule after Trump order
(ATTN: UPDATES with JCS official's comments in paras 5-7) By Kim Seung-yeon
· Kim Seung-yeon
(LEAD) S. Korea to launch 'Future Fund' with 'windfall revenue' amid chip boom
(ATTN: ADDS details in paras 5-7, 17-18; CHANGES photos)By Kang Yoon-seung
· Kang Yoon-seung
Court convicts 2 organizers of Hong Kong's Tiananmen vigils in national security case
HONG KONG — Two former organizers of Hong Kong’s decades-old vigil in remembrance of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown were convicted Friday in a national security case brought under a China-imposed law that has effectively crushed the city’s previously thriving pro-democracy movement.
· Associated Press
Japan executes man behind pachinko parlour arson that killed 5
Sunao Takami doused the Osaka venue with petrol and set it on fire in 2009, killing four customers and one employee
· Agence France-Presse
Japan executes man behind pachinko parlour arson that killed 5
Sunao Takami doused the Osaka venue with petrol and set it on fire in 2009, killing four customers and one employee
· Agence France-Presse
S. Korea to launch 'future fund' with 'windfall revenue' amid chip boom
South Korea will launch the "Future Fund" to promote long-term economic growth, using what the government calls "windfall revenue" from increased tax collection driven by the recent artificial intelligence boom, the budget ministry said Friday.
· Yonhap
S. Korea to launch 'future fund' with 'windfall revenue' amid chip boom
SEOUL, Aug. 21 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will launch the "Future Fund" to promote long-term economic growth, using what the government calls "windfall revenue" from increased tax collection driven by the recent artificial intelligence (AI) boom, the budget ministry said Friday.
· Kang Yoon-seung
US pushes allies, China to back Trump's economic war on Iran
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The United States on Thursday warned allies and China to join President Donald Trump's new campaign to isolate the Iranian economy, vowing that Washington would "collapse this regime" in Tehran.
· Agence France-Presse
Turkish Airlines aims to add 15%-20% Asia flights, eyes China and Australia
A Turkish Airline plane flies over the Bosphorus Strait that separates the Asian continent from Europe. The national carrier flies to the most countries in the world. (Turkish Airlines)
· SINAN TAVSAN
Korea National Opera chief reports largest assets
SEOUL, Aug. 21 (Yonhap) -- Korea National Opera General Director Park Hye-jin reported 46.5 billion won (US$33.5 million) worth of assets, topping the list of 73 high-level public office holders required to declare their wealth due to changes in their status, officials said Friday.
· CHANG JAE SUN
Hyundai Motor union stages first full-day strike in 10 years
Hyundai Motor labor union launched a full-day strike Friday, bringing production to a halt across the company’s key plants in South Korea as wage negotiations remain deadlocked.
· Ahn Sung-mi
Kakao Corp. to spinoff core biz to strengthen AI capabilities
SEOUL, Aug. 21 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's Kakao Corp. said Friday it plans to split its major businesses, including its popular messenger service KakaoTalk, into two entities as part of efforts to strengthen its artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities.
· Kang Jae-eun
More banks offering cashless payment services for children in Japan
More cashless payment services for children are being made available in Japan, allowing parents to check their children’s balances and spending history through an app to prevent excessive spending.
· No Author
DPWH seeks foreign funding for P34B CDO coastal road project
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will seek foreign funding, particularly from Japan, to accelerate the completion of the proposed extension of the Cagayan de Oro (CDO) Coastal Road, Secretary Vince Dizon said Friday.
· Arlie O. Calalo
(LEAD) Philip Morris to launch VEEV e-vapor product in S. Korea
(ATTN: UPDATES with details in 5th para)
· Choi Kyong-ae
S. Korea to monitor impact of rising bond yields around globe
SEOUL, Aug. 21 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will closely monitor its government bond market amid rising long-term yields in major economies and heightened economic uncertainties, the finance minister said Friday.
· Kang Yoon-seung
Photos show traditional and conventional medical care in Tibet
Gama, a physician, describes the therapy for a Tibetan man, right, in a ward of the Xizang Autonomous Region Hospital of Tibetan Medicine in Lhasa, in western China’s Tibet Autonomous Region on Wednesday, July 22, 2026 as seen during a government organized visit for foreign journalists. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
S. Korea, U.S., Japan share information, discuss response to N.K. missile launch
SEOUL, Aug. 21 (Yonhap) -- Senior diplomats of South Korea, the United States and Japan held telephone consultations Friday to share information and discuss responses following North Korea's latest ballistic missile launches, Seoul's foreign ministry said.
· Oh Seok-min
Yamashita shoots 62 to take 1st-round lead in Edmonton in the CPKC Women’s Open
Miyu Yamashita, back right, of Japan, walks past a mini CPKC train as she arrives at the first tee behind Hannah Green, of Australia, during the first round at the LPGA Canadian Women’s Open golf tournament in Edmonton, Alberta, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Japan lawmakers to visit China in bid to cool row, but thaw unlikely: experts
‘China opposes the Takaichi administration’s erroneous policies but it does not reject exchanges with Japan’: academic Xu Weijun
· Orange Wang
Japan lawmakers to visit China in bid to cool row, but thaw unlikely: experts
‘China opposes the Takaichi administration’s erroneous policies but it does not reject exchanges with Japan’: academic Xu Weijun
· Orange Wang
S. Korea to impose antidumping tariffs on Thai seamless copper pipes
SEOUL, Aug. 21 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's finance ministry said Friday it will impose antidumping tariffs on seamless copper pipes imported from Thailand after its investigation found the imports had caused damage to the domestic industry.
· Kang Yoon-seung
Philip Morris to launch VEEV e-vapor product in S. Korea
SEOUL, Aug. 21 (Yonhap) -- Philip Morris Korea Inc. said Friday it will launch a new e-vapor product in South Korea next week as it expands its smoke-free product lineup in Asia's fourth-largest economy.
· Choi Kyong-ae
S. Korea-US combined exercise to conclude ahead of schedule after Trump order
South Korea and the United States were set to wrap up their key military exercise Friday, nearly a week ahead of its original schedule after US President Donald Trump ordered a significant reduction in a move widely seen as a conciliatory gesture toward North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
· Yonhap
S. Korea-U.S. combined exercise to conclude ahead of schedule after Trump order
SEOUL, Aug. 21 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the United States were set to wrap up their key military exercise Friday, nearly a week ahead of its original schedule after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a significant reduction in a move widely seen as a conciliatory gesture toward North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
· Kim Seung-yeon
AI cuts costs for Southeast Asia-based scammers
Cambodia has cracked down heavily on scam centers. © Reuters
· Staff Writer
Exports up 56% in first 20 days of Aug. on robust chip shipments
South Korea's exports surged 56 percent from a year earlier over the first 20 days of August, customs data showed Friday, with shipments of semiconductors reaching a fresh high.
· Yonhap
Producer prices fall for 1st time in 11 months in July on declining oil prices
South Korea's producer prices fell for the first time in 11 months in July, driven by lower global crude oil prices despite a sharp rise in prices of agricultural products amid a heat wave, central bank data showed Friday.
· Yonhap
Exports up 56 pct in first 20 days of Aug.
SEOUL, Aug. 21 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's exports surged 56 percent from a year earlier over the first 20 days of August, customs data showed Friday.
· Kang Yoon-seung
(URGENT) Seoul shares open 1.35 pct lower as U.S. bond yields climb again
(2nd LD) Lee proposes dialogue with N. Korea to officially end Korean War, halt Pyongyang's nuclear program
· Kim Eun-jung
Japan faces ‘nightmare scenario’ as it struggles to defend ICC judge
Tokyo has to tread ‘extremely lightly’ on the issue to avoid jeopardising the US security umbrella on which it relies, analysts say
· Julian Ryall
Japan faces ‘nightmare scenario’ as it struggles to defend ICC judge
Tokyo has to tread ‘extremely lightly’ on the issue to avoid jeopardising the US security umbrella on which it relies, analysts say
· Julian Ryall
Japan's historic yen intervention has ‘turbo-charged’ the carry trade
Japan's historic effort to prop up the yen may have had an unintended consequence: giving some investors a better opportunity to double down on carry trade.
· Lee Ying Shan