Visa’s China approval a ‘direct outcome’ of Trump-Xi summit, Beijing says

South China Morning Post - Oct 15, 2026

China said on Thursday that the recent government approval allowing American bank card payment giant Visa to operate in the country was the “direct outcome” of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to the United States last month. “The Visa card was granted permission to establish a banking card clearing institution,” said Qiu Wenxing, the Deputy Chief of Mission at the Chinese embassy in Washington. “It is a direct outcome of the presidential summit.” Visa received administrative approval...

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S. Korea to kick off annual Hoguk exercise next week

S. Korea to kick off annual Hoguk exercise next week

The South Korean military will launch an annual outdoor defense field exercise next week, along with some joint field drills with the United States that were pushed back as the allies scaled back their combined summertime exercise, officials said Thursday. The Hoguk exercise will begin Monday for a five-day run, aimed at bolstering joint operational capabilities and the readiness posture of the armed forces across the land, maritime and air domains, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). This year's drills will involve a similar number of troops to the 2025 exercise and incorporate the operation of opposing forces and simulated combat training to better reflect realistic threats, the JCS said. The drills will be conducted alongside computer-simulated command post exercises and various strategy discussions as part of efforts to maintain a "robust" readiness posture, it added. The U.S. Forces Korea will also participate in the drills to enhance interoperability with South Korean troops, a JCS official said. Launched in 1996, the Hoguk exercise is aimed at enhancing the interoperabili

BTS' 'Hooligan' music video tops 100 mil. YouTube views

BTS' 'Hooligan' music video tops 100 mil. YouTube views

The music video for “Hooligan,” a track from BTS’ fifth studio album “ARIRANG,” surpassed 100 million YouTube views at around 6:40 a.m. Wednesday, according to the group’s agency, BigHit Music, a label under HYBE. It is the third music video from the album to reach the milestone, following those for lead single “Swim” and “2.0.” The album, named after a traditional Korean folk song widely regarded as the country’s unofficial national anthem, was released March 20. The “Hooligan” video was unveiled April 8 on the HYBE LABELS YouTube channel. The video contrasts a moss-covered gray space with vivid red sets. The seven members, in black outerwear and sporting tooth gems, perform a hard-hitting synchronized dance with a large group of backup dancers. “Hooligan” serves as the opening number of the group’s “ARIRANG” world tour. The alternative hip-hop track reflects on BTS’ journey of carving out its own path around the world. Its intro layers the sound of clashing blades over sweeping strings, and the song pairs a blade-based rhythm with deep 808 bass, a

Sejong University forum addresses quality of education for international students

Sejong University forum addresses quality of education for international students

Sejong University hosted an international higher education forum at its Seoul campus on Oct. 1 to discuss ways to improve education for international students and support their career development. The 8th International Student Future Higher Education Korea 2026 Fall was organized in collaboration with Stuvisor, a global study-abroad platform, and Careertus, which supports international students’ employment and entrepreneurship. The university said the event consisted of a career fair for international students and a higher education forum for representatives of universities and other institutions. The event has served as a networking platform where international students can explore employment, further study and entrepreneurship opportunities, while university and institutional representatives discuss ways to improve education and support systems for international students. This year’s event took on added significance as the number of international students in Korea surpassed 300,000, highlighting the need to move beyond enrollment growth and focus on educational quality and talent d

PM office denies report about ministers' complaints over live broadcasts of Cabinet meetings

PM office denies report about ministers' complaints over live broadcasts of Cabinet meetings

The prime minister's office denied a news report Thursday that some government members have raised complaints that it is difficult for them to object to what the president says during Cabinet meetings as the sessions are broadcast live. The Hankook Ilbo daily carried the report that about 10 ministers raised such complaints during a dinner meeting with Prime Minister Han Seong-sook earlier this month and asked for the live broadcasting of Cabinet meetings to be curtailed to allow for healthy policy debates. The prime minister's office denied the report, saying, "The government is live-broadcasting Cabinet meeting discussions for the first time in history, and this is aimed at transparently making the running of state affairs public and actively reflecting the opinions of the people in government policy." "Regarding the agenda discussed at Cabinet meetings, members of the Cabinet are freely expressing their views and the president is actively accepting them," it added.

Mercury to fall further on Thursday morning

Mercury to fall further on Thursday morning

Temperatures will drop on Thursday morning compared to Wednesday, with a significant daily temperature gap. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA), morning lows on Thursday will range between 3 to 13 degrees Celsius, which is approximately 2 degrees lower than Wednesday. Most regions will see morning temperatures below 10 degrees Celsius, with temperatures hovering around 5 degrees Celsius in parts of Gangwon Province and inland areas of the southern regions. Frost is expected in these areas as well as some parts of North Chungcheong Province, while ice may form in some mountain areas in Gangwon. The KMA noted that there will be wide daily temperature swings. Daytime highs will be 20 to 24 degrees Celsius, higher than Wednesday. Seoul’s temperatures will range from 10 to 21 degrees Celsius, from 13 to 21 in Incheon, 7 to 23 in Daejeon and Daegu, 8 to 24 in Gwangju, 10 to 24 in Ulsan and 12 to 23 in Busan. Temperatures will be higher on Friday, with morning lows between 7 and 15 and daytime highs between 22 and 26. Northern parts of Gyeonggi and Gangwon Province should

Korea opens 1st national sports museum to preserve historic triumphs

Korea opens 1st national sports museum to preserve historic triumphs

Korea opened its first national museum dedicated to sports on Thursday, bringing together thousands of artifacts documenting historic victories, Olympic milestones and moments that have shaped the country’s sporting identity. The National Sports Museum, located in Olympic Park in southern Seoul’s Songpa District, was established by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation to collect, preserve and showcase Korea’s sporting heritage. The museum houses about 70,000 sports-related artifacts and records, offering visitors a chance to revisit achievements that have inspired athletes and spectators across generations. Among its featured items are the gold medal won by marathon runner Suh Yun-bok at the 1947 Boston Marathon, soccer shoes belonging to Korean soccer pioneer Kim Yong-sik, the competition uniform worn by Yang Jung-mo, Korea’s first Olympic gold medalist, and the Olympic torch from the 1988 Seoul Games. The collection also includes the hoop used in the opening ceremony of the 1988 Olympics, recalling one of the event’s most memor

Fingerprint experts from 42 nations challenge skills in Korea-Interpol contest

Fingerprint experts from 42 nations challenge skills in Korea-Interpol contest

Fingerprint examiners from 42 countries tested their skills in an online competition co-hosted by the Korean National Police Agency and Interpol, the international police cooperation body, the agency said Thursday. Long before artificial intelligence and algorithms transformed modern crime-fighting, police work relied on a far simpler, time-tested tool: human eyes searching for minute patterns etched onto skin. Last month, that fundamental forensic art took center stage as 279 latent print specialists worldwide stepped away from their automated software to go head-to-head in a high-stakes test of pure human observation. The third annual International Fingerprint Examination Competition, held online on Sept. 17, offered no assistance from computer matching databases. For two grueling hours, contestants were faced with 20 complex fingerprint puzzles, tasked with matching obscure, incomplete latent prints against a field of 50 possible candidates. To mirror the unforgiving reality of real-world casework — where a single misidentification can lead to a wrongful arrest — the scoring syst

Kookmin University professor named among World's Top 2% Scientists for 3rd straight year

Kookmin University professor named among World's Top 2% Scientists for 3rd straight year

Ravi Gupta, a professor at Kookmin University’s College of Transdisciplinary Studies, has been included in the 2026 World’s Top 2% Scientists list for the third consecutive year. Compiled by Stanford University and Elsevier, the list identifies leading researchers in each academic field based on citation indicators derived from Elsevier’s Scopus database. Gupta studies plant physiology, biochemistry and functional genomics, focusing on how plants respond to environmental stress and regulate plant immunity, according to Kookmin University. He uses mass spectrometry-based proteomics to study proteins and post-translational modifications involved in plant defense against pathogens and responses to environmental stress. He has published more than 190 papers, which have collectively received over 5,500 citations. “I am honored to have been included in the World’s Top 2% Scientists list for the third consecutive year,” Gupta said. “This achievement reflects the contributions of the researchers and students I have worked with and motivates me to continue studying plant immunity and

New bridge between China, North Korea opens

New bridge between China, North Korea opens

DANDONG, China — A big new bridge linking China and North Korea opened on Thursday, 12 years after its completion, deepening economic ties between the Asian giant and its isolated nuclear-armed neighbour. China is North Korea's largest trading partner and a vital source of diplomatic, economic and political support for the reclusive nuclear state, although ties have not always been smooth. Hundreds of people gathered on Thursday on the Chinese side for the opening of the 3,026-metre (9,927-feet) New Yalu River vehicle bridge. Trucks bearing the nations' flags began moving in both directions late morning, AFP reporters at the scene said, some of the North Korean vehicles decorated with flowers. "It's great," one woman who came to watch told AFP in the quiet northern border town of Dandong, which is dotted with a mish-mash of Chinese and Korean shops and restaurants. "It's already been over 10 years. It's certainly going to be good for business," she said, without wishing to be named, accompanied by her friend and her dog. The opening came a day after North Korea test-fired two types of cr

'Super El Niño' could bring roller-coaster winter weather to Korea

'Super El Niño' could bring roller-coaster winter weather to Korea

Wild temperature swings are expected to continue through the winter, with what could be the strongest El Niño on record forecast to peak toward the end of the year, raising the likelihood of a “roller-coaster winter” marked by mild spells interrupted by sudden cold snaps. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA), morning lows on Wednesday plunged by around 10 degrees Celsius from the previous day, reaching 9 degrees in Seoul and 3 degrees in Daegwallyeong, Gangwon Province. Temperatures are expected to gradually rise above the seasonal average over the weekend before plunging again, with lows reaching 3 degrees by the middle of next week, pointing to continued sharp fluctuations. The erratic weather is typical of autumn, when migratory high- and low-pressure systems pass through the Korean Peninsula in succession. Cold winds blowing down from the north are battling warm, humid southerly winds originating over the western Pacific, where sea temperatures are higher than normal, causing weather conditions to fluctuate sharply. Such unpredictable conditions are expect

Man sentenced to 45 years in prison for murdering mother-in-law

Man sentenced to 45 years in prison for murdering mother-in-law

DAEGU — A district court sentenced a man to a 45-year prison term Thursday for murdering his mother-in-law and abandoning her body in the southeastern city of Daegu. The Daegu District Court handed down the sentence to Cho Jae-bok, 26, for murdering the 54-year-old victim in March at his home in the city located some 250 kilometers southeast of Seoul. He was also convicted of throwing away the victim's body in a suitcase. The court noted that the victim had faced repeated violence that left her unable to even speak by the time of her murder. Prosecutors had sought a life sentence for Cho, who was also charged with abusing, monitoring and financially controlling his wife and mother-in-law.

Special counsel seeks new arrest warrant for jailed ex-first lady to keep her in custody

Special counsel seeks new arrest warrant for jailed ex-first lady to keep her in custody

A special counsel team said Thursday it has filed for a new arrest warrant for jailed former first lady Kim Keon Hee as her detention period is set to expire later this month. Special counsel Min Joong-ki's team submitted the request to the Supreme Court, citing the need to keep Kim, the wife of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, in custody before her detention expires Oct. 31. Kim, who has been in detention since August last year, awaits final rulings by the top court on two sentences delivered by appellate court benches: a four-year prison sentence on corruption charges, and a five-year prison sentence on bribery and other charges. A final ruling for the first case is unlikely to be delivered before her detention period expires, with the court scheduling a deliberation session for next Thursday. "As the expiration of defendant Kim Keon Hee's detention period nears, there is a need to keep her in custody, so we have submitted an application to issue an arrest warrant," the team said.

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