16 killed, 32 hurt after magnitude 7 earthquake strikes China’s Tibet

South China Morning Post - Oct 22, 2026

At least 16 people were killed and 32 more injured when a strong 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck China’s western Tibet autonomous region late on Thursday, state news agency Xinhua said, citing local authorities. More than 300 houses collapsed in the earthquake, which struck on Thursday at 10.33pm. Officials were still evaluating the damage, and disaster relief work was ongoing, Xinhua said. The epicentre of the quake was located in a mountainous area about 190km (120 miles) east-northeast of...

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US troops in S. Korea must be ready for missions beyond peninsula, commander says

US troops in S. Korea must be ready for missions beyond peninsula, commander says

The commander of the U.S. Eighth Army in South Korea said his troops must be ready for deployment outside the Korean peninsula if ordered, arguing that it would be "irresponsible" to focus "myopically" on threats there. Lt. Gen. Joe Hilbert said that while his command's focus was on fulfilling U.S. commitments under its mutual defense treaty with Seoul, the Eighth Army's location did not limit the missions it could undertake. It would be "irresponsible to focus myopically" on threats on the Korean peninsula alone, he told the South China Morning Post by email, or to "suggest that we cannot do other things simply because we are in Korea." Describing the Eighth Army as part of a "global force" that trains for "readiness so that we can deploy where needed by our national command authority," Hilbert cited the Eighth Army's participation in multinational exercises across the Asia-Pacific as an example of its activities beyond the peninsula. "We view readiness as largely threat-agnostic. If we have a trained, ready force capable of executing the Army's assigned missions, we can apply that forc

Yonsei University portal hack leaks data of 10,000 students, graduates

Yonsei University portal hack leaks data of 10,000 students, graduates

Personal information belonging to about 10,000 Yonsei University students and graduates has been leaked in a hacking of the university's portal service, the university said Thursday. Yonsei University's information and communications office said it has confirmed unauthorized access to the portal by an external party, resulting in the exposure of personal information of some members of the university community. It apologized for the concern and inconvenience caused by the breach. The exposed data includes student ID numbers, mobile phone numbers and email addresses of current students and graduates, as well as certain system management information, the university said. However, sensitive personal information, such as resident registration numbers, was not compromised, it said. After discovering the hack, the university took steps to block the point of intrusion and requested a police investigation. The university said details of the breach, including the specific types of personal information exposed for each affected individual, will be available on its website from 1 p.m. Thursday.

Busan shark returns to canal after brief exit

Busan shark returns to canal after brief exit

BUSAN — Bukang-i the shark, which was guided out of a canal in South Korea's southeastern city of Busan after more than a month there, has returned to the waterway. The shark was seen swimming Thursday morning in a narrow space between a flat floating platform installed near the canal's exit to prevent it from coming back and a net set up as a second backstop, a day after it was successfully guided out of the canal. Observers say the fish could have swum its way into the canal under the floating platform, known as a pontoon. The shark -- named Bukang-i after Bukhang, Korean for North Port -- was first spotted in the canal Sept. 18. Since then, the canal park, located about 330 kilometers southeast of Seoul, has turned into a major attraction, drawing over 1.6 million visitors as of Sunday. After two previous attempts to guide the fish to the open sea failed, officials had waited for it to exit the canal on its own. But after it didn't, the officials made a third attempt over concern it could die if water temperatures fell further. On Wednesday, a joint team involving municipal and Coast

Veterans minister to pay tribute to 2 late former presidents

Veterans minister to pay tribute to 2 late former presidents

Veterans Minister Kwon Oh-eul will visit the graves of two former presidents, including controversial former dictator Park Chung-hee, the veterans ministry said Thursday, following through on his pledge to honor past leaders regardless of political differences. Kwon was set to attend a memorial ceremony later in the day marking the 20th anniversary of the death of Choi Kyu-hah, the 10th president, from December 1979 to August 1980, at the Daejeon National Cemetery and pay his respects, according to the ministry. Choi assumed office following the assassination of Park in October 1979 and resigned under pressure from then Army Gen. Chun Doo-hwan, who took power through a military coup. Choi is the shortest-serving president in post-Korean War history. Kwon plans to visit the Seoul National Cemetery on Monday and pay tribute to Park, the ministry said. Kwon's moves are considered rare, as paying respects to controversial past leaders like Park has often drawn criticism, especially from the liberal bloc. Kwon, a Cabinet member in the liberal Lee Jae Myung government, has expressed a commitmen

Xi reaffirms commitment to strengthening ties with N. Korea in reply to Kim Jong-un's letter

Xi reaffirms commitment to strengthening ties with N. Korea in reply to Kim Jong-un's letter

Chinese President Xi Jinping has reaffirmed Beijing's commitment to strengthening ties with North Korea, saying the two countries have long supported each other across generations, the North's state media reported Thursday. Xi made the remarks in a reply sent to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Tuesday, responding to Kim's Oct. 1 congratulatory message marking the 77th anniversary of the founding of China, in which Kim pledged to further develop their traditional friendship and safeguard shared interests. Xi said the two countries are geographically connected and that their friendship and shared destiny have long been defining features of bilateral relations, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Xi also highlighted the outcome of his state visit to North Korea in June, saying the two leaders reached important common understandings on deepening bilateral ties and further strengthening strategic guidance for their development. "China is ready to work with North Korea to carry forward the traditional friendship between the two nations, consolidate mutual political trust, ex

New Netflix series starring Song Hye-kyo, Gong Yoo to premiere in December

New Netflix series starring Song Hye-kyo, Gong Yoo to premiere in December

"Tantara," a new Netflix original Korean series starring actors Song Hye-kyo and Gong Yoo, will be released on Dec. 11, the streaming platform said Thursday. Set in the 1960s-80s, the period drama follows Min-ja (Song), who overcomes poverty and ventures into the recording industry, and her childhood friend Dong-gu (Gong), who supports her dream. The show's cast also includes Kim Seol-hyun, Cha Seung-won, Lee Hanee and Na Moon-hee. The upcoming series marks star screenwriter Noh Hee-kyung's return after more than four years. Noh has penned popular works such as "Worlds Within" (2008) and "That Winter, the Wind Blows" (2013) — both starring Song — as well as "Our Blues" (2022).

Presidential office denies investigation chief's Cabinet meeting attendance compromises impartiality

Presidential office denies investigation chief's Cabinet meeting attendance compromises impartiality

The presidential office on Thursday refuted media criticism that the chief of the new investigative body attending Cabinet meetings could compromise impartiality and independence in investigations. The response came amid growing media criticism after Kim Ji-yong, chief of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency (SCIA), attended Tuesday's Cabinet meeting for the first time since taking office, despite the long-held practice of investigation chiefs not attending such meetings. In a social media post the previous day, President Lee Jae Myung said chiefs of all government institutions under his command could attend Cabinet meetings, but many media outlets pointed out that such a move could compromise the investigation chief's independence and impartiality in conducting investigations. "The government is strenuously working toward maintaining fairness and political neutrality in investigations and independence in indictments. This principle will remain unwavering going forward," Lee's senior secretary for the press, Seong Ghi-hong, told reporters. The official also made clear that no individua

Soongsil University, Chung-Ang University team develops technology to disrupt lip-sync deepfakes

Soongsil University, Chung-Ang University team develops technology to disrupt lip-sync deepfakes

A joint research team from Soongsil University and Chung-Ang University has developed a technology to disrupt lip synchronization in deepfake videos that use artificial intelligence (AI) to make a person's lip movements match an audio track. Soongsil University said Tuesday that the team, led by professor Choi Dae-sun of its AI Security Center and professor Kwon Jun-seok of Chung-Ang University, developed the technology, dubbed MUTE. According to the team, MUTE is the first technology to disrupt lip synchronization in deepfake videos using audio protection alone. The paper, titled “MUTE: Multi-Level Alignment Uncoupling Against Talking-Head Exploitation for Voice Protection,” was accepted for presentation at the Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems (NeurIPS) 2026, one of the world’s leading AI conferences. The study was conducted as part of a research and development project supported by the Personal Information Protection Commission and the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA). The research team included doctoral student Kim Dong-hyun, master’s student Kim Seung

Seoul claims top spot in global AI adoption, 3rd overall in 2026 AI Cities Index

Seoul claims top spot in global AI adoption, 3rd overall in 2026 AI Cities Index

Seoul has secured third place overall — and claimed the top spot worldwide in artificial intelligence (AI) adoption and implementation — in the newly released 2026 AI Cities Index compiled by Britain’s The Observer, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said Thursday. The benchmark evaluation, built on Tortoise Media’s established Global AI Index, assessed 57 major metropolitan centers across 36 countries using 50 indicators split into three core pillars: investment, innovation and implementation. San Francisco and New York claimed the top two global spots, while Seoul finished third, outranking major international hubs including Beijing, Paris and London, which filled out the fourth through sixth positions. The Observer, founded in 1791 as the world’s oldest Sunday newspaper, introduced city-level rankings for the first time this year, capturing a fundamental shift as AI power increasingly concentrates in urban centers. Seoul’s standout performance came in the implementation category, where it ranked first globally ahead of Tokyo (third) and Singapore (fifth). This metric measu

Hankuk University of Foreign Studies offers training for new hires at semiconductor companies

Hankuk University of Foreign Studies offers training for new hires at semiconductor companies

Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS) held a two-day training program Oct. 19-20 to help newly hired employees at local semiconductor materials, parts and equipment companies develop practical skills. The university said Wednesday that its G-Anchor Project Group organized the program in cooperation with Yongin City, Gyeonggi Province. The G-Anchor Project is a provincial initiative designed to support universities in promoting regional innovation. Twenty-five newly hired employees from six semiconductor-related companies in Yongin — including Rorze Systems, BMI Tech, GnG InTech, SurplusGlobal, Justem and Appletree — participated in the training. They worked in a range of fields, including manufacturing, design, sales, research and development, and quality control. The training program aimed to deepen participants’ understanding of the semiconductor industry and develop the practical skills and workplace adaptability needed to perform their jobs effectively. Lim Ju-won, a professor in HUFS’ Division of Semiconductor and Electronics Engineering, oversaw the program. Faculty me

Incheon stabbing suspect tests negative for psychopathy

Incheon stabbing suspect tests negative for psychopathy

INCHEON — The suspect behind last week's stabbing spree in Incheon has tested negative for psychopathy, police and legal sources said Thursday. The Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency conducted a psychopathy test on the 59-year-old suspect, Choi Choong-rak, but his score fell below the 25 out of 40 points needed to classify him as a psychopath. Choi is accused of attempting to kill 10 people at a commercial complex in Incheon, west of Seoul, on Oct. 13, by wielding knives in both hands. The rampage left eight people injured, including one who remains unconscious after suffering cardiac arrest. The two others escaped without harm. During police questioning, Choi said he carried out the attack out of anger over medical treatment he received at a local hospital. He also told police that he did not target specific people but chose those who looked weaker than him. Choi has 10 prior convictions, including two for attempted murder. Police said they are analyzing evidence and conducting further investigations to determine his motive and whether the attack was premeditated.

S. Korea urges NK to stop border escalation acts amid Pyongyang's loudspeaker threat

S. Korea urges NK to stop border escalation acts amid Pyongyang's loudspeaker threat

The unification ministry on Thursday called on North Korea to immediately stop acts that could increase the risk of clashes with South Korea along the border after the North warned of resuming loudspeaker broadcasts against Seoul. The ministry issued the statement after Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, threatened to resume propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts targeting South Korea within days, and warned of a "horrible and distressing situation" amid tensions over Pyongyang's ongoing border fortification work. "Actions that violate the Armistice Agreement, and heighten tensions and the risk of clashes along the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) must be stopped immediately," the ministry said, referring to the agreement that halted the 1950-53 Korean War. It also warned against repeating past mistakes, noting that the two Koreas had operated loudspeakers targeting each other until June 2025, causing "unbearable suffering" for people on both sides of the border. "The fundamental solution to preventing tensions and the risk of clashes between the two Koreas is

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