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The United Nations Command (UNC) said Wednesday it found a violation of the Armistice Agreement has occurred over last week's mine blast inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). "Based on the findings of the investigation, UNC determined that an Armistice Agreement violation occurred. UNC is addressing the violation through established Armistice mechanisms," it said in an emailed statement. The UNC said a joint investigation team with the South Korean military identified an active North Korean mine on the South Korean side of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL). "UNC remains committed to maintaining and enforcing the Armistice Agreement and fulfilling its responsibilities to preserve stability and prevent escalation on the Korean Peninsula," it said. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff released Monday its preliminary findings on the joint investigation with the UNC on the Sept. 21 mine blast. It determined that North Korean resin antipersonnel mines "highly likely" caused the two explosions that injured three South Korean soldiers. Two of them suffered critical injuries. North Korea denied it

An international arbitration body has dismissed a 770 billion-won ($566 million) damages claim by an Iranian investor against Seoul in a case stemming from a failed takeover of a Korean company, the justice ministry said Wednesday. A panel under the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) ruled in favor of Korea in the case brought by six members of Iran's Dayyani family in 2021, seeking compensation for Seoul's delayed transfer of funds over a prior arbitration, according to the ministry. The panel sided with Korea in the case and ordered the Dayyanis to pay about 4 billion won to Korea for legal expenses and around 800 million won in administrative fees, the ministry said. The original case traces back to 2015, when the Dayyanis, a major shareholder of Entekhab Industrial Group, filed for arbitration after Korea's state-run Korea Asset Management Corp. canceled a contract to sell a major stake in Daewoo Electronics to Entekhab in 2011. In a 2018 arbitration, Seoul was ordered to pay 73 billion won plus interest in compensation to the Dayyanis over the failed takeover of Daewoo

Ukraine was the first to ask the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war (POWs) to South Korea be kept a secret, Seoul's spy agency said Wednesday, adding the two countries had a shared understanding to keep the transfer confidential from the beginning of the transfer process. In a briefing to the National Assembly's intelligence committee, the National Intelligence Service (NIS) also said the two North Korean soldiers arrived in South Korea in mid-September and had no major health problems, according to committee members. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy disclosed during a United Nations address last week that Ukraine has sent the two North Korean soldiers captured last year to South Korea. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and his office have since said Ukraine breached a nondisclosure agreement aimed at keeping the transfer a secret to protect the soldiers from dangers they could face if their transfer were to be disclosed. A Ukrainian presidential official was later reported to have denied the existence of a nondisclosure agreement. The foreign ministry on Monday calle

Seoul is one of the world's largest cities, but when you're in a creative community or other subculture, it can feel almost more like a small town. Right in the center of this metropolis, in a hillside neighborhood that once was a refugee settlement, Rob Nichols, the British frontman of local alt-country band Honey Jam Sam, lives in a rooftop apartment overlooking a two-lane road, where he can encounter people from all walks of life. In his apartment, he has set up his own home recording studio, which he named Sky Cottage Studios. "Somehow we have our own little community, and I have my own little space within that," he told The Korea Times. "Sometimes it doesn’t feel real, disconnected from the larger picture. I guess I’m just carving out my own little niche with my band while I can." He's preparing for the release of Honey Jam Sam's latest album, due out on Saturday, titled "East of Yeadon." The name is a reference to Yeadon Airport, now Leeds Bradford Airport in Yeadon, West Yorkshire, where he began his journey to Korea in 2009. "I was looking for a title that incorporated both el

Twin pandas born at a Korean amusement park in Yongin, just south of Seoul, will be sent to China in the third week of December, a park official said Wednesday. China has ownership of all pandas, including those born outside of China, and sends them to other countries only on a lease basis. Rui Bao and Hui Bao, who were born in Korea on July 7, 2023, will leave before they turn four, when pandas' reproductive maturity begins, as required. Everland amusement park said the exact travel date and destination will be finalized based on factors including their health. The park plans to host farewell programs for visitors. "We ask for your great interest and warm support for the twin pandas' new start," a park official said. Previously, their older sister, Fu Bao, who triggered a massive fandom craze in Korea, returned to China in April 2024 before reaching her fourth birthday.

China’s broadcasting regulator has called for greater support for live-action dramas as the government seeks to steer the booming microdrama industry towards higher-quality production and tighter rights safeguards amid the rapid rise of AI. Artificial intelligence (AI) has created innovation and production possibilities for microdramas, while also posing challenges over content quality and rights protection, according to Wang Xiaoliang from the National Radio and Television...

The Australian Signals Directorate's director-general has revealed the country has access to high-level artificial intelligence.

He was accused of spying on a Buddhist group.

The 2026 World Internet Conference (WIC) Wuzhen Summit will put open-source AI and international cooperation on AI development and governance at the center of its agenda, organizers said on Tuesday at a news conference in Beijing.

NSW senator David Shoebridge will lead the Greens with Senator Steph Hodgins-May as his deputy.

Taiwan’s military plans to spend more than NT$27 billion (US$850 million) to quadruple critical ammunition stocks to 120 days’ supply, strengthening its ability to sustain combat operations during a wartime blockade. The proposed six-year “urgent ammunition replenishment” programme, running from this year until 2031, comes as Taipei seeks to strengthen its ability to keep fighting if a cross-strait conflict cuts external supply lines. The spending proposal was revealed on September 26 and still...

The two-month extension of the US-China trade truce remains fragile despite last week’s summit between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, with modest economic concessions leaving deeper disputes unresolved, Asia Society Policy Institute analysts said on Tuesday. “In my view, this truce is very fragile,” said Wendy Cutler, an Asia Society Policy Institute vice-president and former acting deputy US trade representative. “I think they’re testing each other.” Xi’s three-day state visit to...