Korea Times

WASHINGTON — An expert on Friday called on South Korea and the United States to address the "political fallout" of U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to scale back their military exercises, noting that the "unnecessary crisis" between the allies has created a roadblock to a coordinated approach toward Pyongyang. Ankit Panda, a senior fellow in the nuclear policy program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, made the case in an article released by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scien

PARIS — Europe saw at least 30,000 excess deaths across a blistering summer of back-to-back heatwaves and drought which scientists have blamed on man-made climate change, according to provisional figures. Between mid-July and mid-August, the continent's EuroMomo monitoring platform estimates that Europe saw more than 32,000 excess deaths — with summer yet to come to an end. While EuroMomo does not publish breakdowns of deaths by country, various national health authorities have published provisi

KYIV — Russian drones struck a shopping center in the city of Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine on Friday, killing 14 people and wounding scores of others, authorities said. The city is the hometown of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who described the attack as a double-tap strike, in which an initial wave of drones hit the area, followed by a second wave as rescue workers responded. “Attacks like these are nothing less than terrorist acts,” Zelenskyy wrote on social media. Local administration head

Gold climbed to a more than three-month high on Friday, on track for its third straight weekly gain, aided by a break above key technical levels as the U.S. Treasury's buyback support plan dragged on the dollar. Spot gold climbed 2.1 percent to $4,612.17 per ounce by 12:29 p.m. EDT (1629 GMT), earlier touching $4,620.14 — its highest since May 15. U.S. gold futures rose 2.2 percent to $4,670.60. Prices have gained over 5 percent so far this week, including the biggest one-day rise since early Fe

WASHINGTON/GENEVA — The Trump administration has started the process to transfer $725 million to the United Nations, a congressional notification seen by Reuters showed, a move aid experts said was a welcome step towards paying billions in dues owed. There was no immediate response from Washington to questions about the reasons for the payment from an administration which has slashed funding to many U.N. agencies and blasted the global body for not living up to its potential. The money - mention

BRUSSELS — NATO's top commander convened a videoconference earlier this week to facilitate possible contributions to support freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, his spokesperson told Reuters, adding that this is not a NATO mission. “Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe hosted a meeting of interested Allies at the chief of defence level on Wednesday, 19 Aug 26, in order to facilitate their possible contributions to support freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz," a spokespe

WASHINGTON — The U.S. State Department on Friday said it had approved the potential sale of AIM-9X Sidewinder Block II tactical missiles and related equipment to South Korea for an estimated $125 million, with RTX Corp as the principal contractor.

DUBAI/WASHINGTON — Iran said on Friday that its response to any new U.S. threats would be "devastating" after Washington pledged to impose the toughest financial penalties in history with the aim of toppling the Iranian leadership. U.S. Treasury chief Scott Bessent said he would give details on Monday of the planned sanctions, which follow a warning from President Donald Trump of economic consequences against any country that provided "any type of lifeline to Iran." The chief of staff of Iran's

SEOUL — The U.S. and South Korean militaries wrapped up their annual drill six days earlier than initially scheduled on Friday in a conciliatory gesture toward North Korea, though the North said the step isn't enough to persuade it to return to talks. U.S. President Donald Trump had earlier abruptly ordered the Pentagon to “substantially reduce” the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise just before it began Monday. Trump cited what he described as a good relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un

LONDON — Britain's Prince Harry, singer Elton John and other high-profile claimants face paying millions of dollars out of their own pockets to cover the legal costs of the Daily Mail's publisher after a judge ruled their failed privacy lawsuits were conducted in an unreasonable way. Judge Matthew Nicklin's judgment on costs, which was published on Friday, ordered an interim payment from the claimants of £9.54 million, due by August 28, towards the legal costs of Associated Newspapers. In a furt

Baseball runs deep in Gwangju. The Tigers, based in the city, have won 12 championships in the 45 years since Korean professional baseball began. Seven of the 30 Koreans who have played in the U.S. Major League Baseball came from Gwangju. Its residents have shared the highs and lows of the sport. Now a 12-year-old here is adding a chapter the sport has never had. This is Choi Seo-yoon's story. Female player in Korea's baseball city The long hair under her cap is already damp and heavy. When she

Ten beanbag chairs, each large enough for one person to lie down, fill the dark cavern. A single shaft of light filters through an opening on one side, but it is nowhere near enough to illuminate the deep darkness. Even taking a single step requires carefully following the guide's cellphone flashlight. It is hard to believe that this is part of a tourist attraction visited by around 1 million people a year. Yet this is one of the previously inaccessible sections of Gwangmyeong Cave in Gwangmyeon

From 3.71 percent to 10.16 percent. When the Institute of Economics at Academia Sinica, Taiwan’s foremost national research institution, released its projection for the country’s annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth in 2026 last month, it represented a staggering 6.45-percentage-point increase from its previous projection made in late December. Such a rate of growth is rarely seen in advanced economies and may even seem downright unrealistic. If Taiwan does exceed a 10 percent growth rate,

At the wheelchair curling final of the Invictus Games, an international sporting event for wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veterans, held in Vancouver, Canada, in February 2025, gasps erupted around the arena when Britain's final draw shot fell short. As the Korean team secured its first gold medal of the games, Lee Hwan-kyung, 53, a key player on the team, turned his head toward the British players. His eyes fell on an athlete who had lost an arm after being injured during milit

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates arrives at Seoul Gimpo Business Aviation Center, Thursday, marking his first visit to Korea in a year to discuss energy cooperation with Korea's policymakers. He is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Han Seong-sook on Friday. Yonhap

Korea Investment Holdings, a financial holding company in Korea, said Thursday it has been named the preferred bidder for KDB Life Insurance, an affiliate of the state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB). Three companies — Korea Investment Holdings, Hanwha Life Insurance and Heungkuk Life Insurance — had formally submitted their final bids for KDB Life Insurance last week. Korea Investment Holdings, which has a brokerage and other financial units under its wing, has sought to expand its business po

TOKYO — Japanese Crown Prince Akishino, the younger brother of Emperor Naruhito, on Thursday said he has “mixed feelings” about the government's revision to the Imperial House Law that reinforces a rule dictating only men can become emperor. “I believe there is no difference between men and women” in serving the roles of the imperial family to respond to social needs, Akishino said at a news conference ahead of a trip to Paraguay later this month to mark the 90th anniversary of Japanese emigrati

Eight years after her youngest daughter went missing during a school trip, a grieving mother sets out on a road trip with her remaining three daughters to get revenge on the killer, recently released from prison. This premise drives "The Journey to Gyeong-ju," the commercial debut by director Kim Mi-jo, who previously won the Grand Prize at the Jeonju International Film Festival with "Gull" (2021), a powerful indie drama about an elderly woman seeking justice. "The Journey to Gyeong-ju" follows

Base Group, a medium-sized Korean conglomerate that made headlines for paying $2 million to the Trump Organization, will establish Trump International Golf Club in Hanam, Gyeonggi Province, the company said Thursday. In a press release, the company described the golf course as “the first Trump-brand golf development project in Northeast Asia” adding that the city of Hanam was chosen for its accessibility from the Seoul metropolitan area. In the release, Eric Trump, U.S. President Donald Trump’s

NEW DELHI — Air India pilots will undergo mandatory drug screening starting Thursday, according to an internal memo seen by AFP, after a captain involved in a serious mid-air incident reportedly tested positive for marijuana. Existing rules require airlines to randomly test at least 10 percent of their flight crew for psychoactive substances each year. "We have decided to undertake a full screening of all Group pilots for any substances or medications that are not permitted under prevailing regu