Forest in China's Greater Hinggan engulfed in clouds
In July 2025, Choi Min-kyeong brought an unusual suit against someone few would have tried to lodge a case against: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. It was the first time a North Korean defector filed a lawsuit against Kim, seeking damages for the torture and sexual violence she suffered in North Korea. "People around me said filing the lawsuit made no sense," Choi, 55, president of the Imprisonment Victims' Family Association, said in an interview with The Korea Times. "At first, a police officer who took my complaint thought it was ridiculous and dismissed it." However, in August, the Seoul Central District Court sided with Choi in her damages suit against Kim, awarding the full 50 million won ($37,210) she had sought. "I was happy and proud when I heard the ruling. I risked my life filing this lawsuit because I couldn't get my eldest daughter out. The 50 million won is just symbolic, calculated from court fees and legal costs, since even 500 billion won wouldn't satisfy my anger," Choi said, adding that the ruling established a legal basis to arrest Kim if he ever enters South Korea.
Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun marks six years at the helm on Wednesday, spearheading the automaker’s transformation into a global top-three auto player by sales and steering it into a key future mobility player focusing on robotics, autonomous driving and artificial intelligence (AI). The next phase of his leadership, however, will hinge on whether the group can turn its physical AI ambitions into profitable businesses. Chung is also tasked with addressing mounting pressure on its core automotive operations and labor relations. Since taking the top post in 2020, Chung has overseen Hyundai Motor and Kia’s rise to the world’s third-largest automotive group by vehicle sales, behind Toyota and Volkswagen. The group maintained that ranking for four consecutive years through 2025. Hyundai Motor and Kia’s combined annual sales also surpassed the symbolic mark of 300 trillion won ($223 billion) for the first time last year. The expansion reflects a strategy that combined electrification with a stronger focus on high-margin vehicles, including SUVs and Genesis luxury m
WASHINGTON — Hanwha Defense USA (HDUSA) and the U.S. Army have officially designated the American version of Hanwha's K9 self-propelled howitzer as the XM1776 Mobile Tactical Cannon (MTC), the company has announced. According to HDUSA, a U.S. subsidiary of South Korean defense giant Hanwha Aerospace Co., the company held a naming ceremony for the XM1776 at the Association of the U.S. Army's (AUSA) 2026 Annual Meeting and Exposition on Tuesday in Washington. In August, HDUSA was selected to provide prototypes based on a wheeled variant of the best-selling K9 Thunder self-propelled artillery system for the MTC program, which aims to develop a highly mobile 155-millimeter artillery system to replace the Army's aging M777 towed howitzers. HDUSA also announced that the U.S. Army has ordered a total of nine prototype XM1776 systems, with an option for nine additional units. The XM1776 is a wheeled artillery system designed to support the U.S. Army's modernization efforts, including improvements in mobility and long-range precision fires capabilities. "The XM1776 Mobile Tactical Cannon represe
When Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Yoo Mi-young was assigned to Udo Island, it was not the well-known tourist destination off Jeju but a much smaller island off Ganghwa in Incheon, near the inter-Korean maritime border. The scenery immediately caught her eye, but so did the significance of serving at one of Korea’s front-line military outposts. It is during nighttime guard duty, with the coastline quiet around her, that Yoo feels the weight of that responsibility. “When I look out over the coast in the stillness of the night, I feel a strong sense of responsibility for guarding the country’s front line,” Yoo said in an interview with The Korea Times. Yoo serves as deputy platoon leader of the Marine Corps’ Udo Guard Unit, part of the Yeonpyeong Unit, where her duties include coastal security operations, training and equipment inspections. Commissioned in July 2023, Yoo said she joined the Marines to challenge herself and serve her country. She was drawn to the demanding training and the chance to push her limits alongside fellow Marines, despite her family’s initial concerns about h
Students from the Department of Smart City Architectural Engineering at Chungnam National University donated all proceeds from the sale of locally themed merchandise at a regional festival to the university’s development fund. The university said five students met with university President Kim Jeong-kyoum on Tuesday and donated 728,000 won ($544) to the fund. The students — Shim Byeol, Park Ji-bin, Oh Yun-seo, Lee Yeon and Jang Seo-hee — were accompanied by their faculty advisers Kim Gyu-young and Lim Seung-cheol. As part of the Living Lab Capstone course, the students designed and sold merchandise at a regional festival as members of a team called “Oncheon Osungi.” Their products combined the appeal of Yuseong Hot Springs with Daejeon’s identity as a science city. The students ran an interactive booth at the 2026 Midsummer Night’s Yuseong Music Festa, held Aug. 7-9. They showcased keycaps inspired by Yuseong Hot Springs and the local specialty Pongdang Bread, as well as merchandise featuring the university mascot, Chacha. The university said the students designed and produce
ULSAN — A fire broke out at a chemical manufacturing company in the southeastern city of Ulsan on Wednesday, forcing around 7,000 workers near the site to evacuate, officials said. The fire began at 9:41 a.m., prompting fire authorities to mobilize some 200 personnel and three helicopters to fight the blaze, according to the Ulsan Fire Headquarters. All 16 workers at the site have evacuated, with no casualties reported so far. The fire is believed to have erupted from an outdoor storage tank containing 8,000 liters of toluene, a flammable material. The smoke from the blaze prompted refiner S-OIL to partially suspend operations of its Shaheen petrochemical project nearby, with about 7,000 workers evacuating to safe locations. Police and fire authorities plan to investigate the exact cause of the blaze. Interior Minister Yun Ho-jung ordered authorities to mobilize all available resources to put out the fire and check for possible missing victims.
Kim Ji-yong, nominee to lead the newly established Serious Crime Investigation Agency (SCIA), emphasized political neutrality and independence at his parliamentary confirmation hearing Wednesday, vowing to pursue investigations without yielding to external pressure. "I will conduct investigations impartially, upholding political neutrality and independence," Kim said in his opening remarks at the National Assembly hearing. "I will ensure that the SCIA conducts fair investigations based solely on the law and principles, without yielding to external pressure," he said. The SCIA was launched on Oct. 2 as part of a major overhaul of the criminal justice system that removes prosecutors' independent investigative powers. A new criminal justice system set sail, under which investigative agencies, including the SCIA and police, handle investigations, while the Prosecution Service is responsible for indictments. Kim vowed to ensure that SCIA fully fulfills its role in upholding judicial justice and protecting the daily lives of the public. He then promised to accomplish four key tasks to earn publi
INCHEON — Three criminal profilers will help investigate the suspect behind this week's stabbing spree in Incheon that left eight people injured, police said Wednesday. The profilers will help uncover the motive of the attack, which took place Tuesday afternoon at a shopping complex in the city west of Seoul, according to Incheon's Namdong Police Station. The suspect, a 59-year-old man, was detained at the scene on suspicion of attempted murder and taken into custody, where he reportedly told investigators some details of the attack. One victim, a woman in her 20s, went into cardiac arrest and received surgery, while the other seven were treated at hospitals. The assailant reportedly wielded knives in both hands and attacked people while moving between floors on an escalator before shoppers threw chairs at him and subdued him. He was found to be carrying a large quantity of drugs at the time, but tested negative in a preliminary drug test conducted by the police. "We plan to apply for an arrest warrant for the suspect after questioning him today," a police official said.
Hyundai Motor Group will invest $15.5 billion in India from 2026 through 2032 to expand production capacity, strengthen research and development and build a broader automotive industry ecosystem in one of its key growth markets. The group announced the seven-year investment plan following a meeting between Executive Chair Chung Euisun and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Tuesday (local time). The investment will cover manufacturing expansion, R&D infrastructure, local supplier development and emerging mobility businesses, with the aim of strengthening India's role as a major production and export base for the group. To coordinate the investment, Hyundai Motor Group plans to establish a dedicated entity in India. The entity will oversee investments in R&D, future technologies and the broader automotive ecosystem, while identifying local partners and supporting strategic cooperation with Indian suppliers. “India remains one of Hyundai Motor Group’s most important and strategic markets globally. The past 30 years have been defined by our commitment to India. This inve
Up to 6,000 metres (19,700 feet) beneath the surface of the Pacific Ocean between Mexico and Hawaii, billions of potato-shaped metallic nodules are scattered across the seabed. The Clarion-Clipperton zone’s reserves of vital metals such as nickel, cobalt and manganese could surpass the total known reserves on land, according to some estimates. While no commercial mining has yet taken place on the underwater plain, the International Seabed Authority has issued 17 exploration contracts for the...
China's Pinglu Canal project wins international green design awards
