News

Ukraine will take part in talks but there'll be separate U.S.-Russia strand: Kremlin

2025/02/14 10:00

Russia has begun preparing a delegation for talks with the U.S. to stop the war in Ukraine. According to a Kremlin spokesperson on Thursday Ukraine would definitely take part in the negotiations but noted there would also be a separate U.S.-Russia track. However, details regarding participants or the size of the delegation were not provided. This comes a day after U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed in a phone call to begin talks on ending the war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine would not accept any peace deal made between the U.S. and Russia without its involvement. He also stressed that Europe should be part of the negotiations.

[Features reporter] Enjoying dasik, traditional Korean sweets

2025/02/14 14:00

Sung-jin, I can already sense a sort of sweetness in the air for today’s topic because I heard you got the chance to taste something great! Absolutely, but first of all, happy Valentine’s Day! I’m sure you’re all familiar with what day it is. Have you guys gotten anything for today? Well today I want to introduce you guys to a gift that's an alternative to chocolate. “On Valentine’s Day, February 14th, it’s common to see stores with large displays of chocolate and candy. But for those that are looking for something different, Korean traditional sweets can be the answer.” Boxes of colorful, visually appealing sweets these are known as dasik. A popular snack during the Joseon dynasty, dasik was also one of King Jeongjo's favorites. The cookie is made by kneading grain powder with honey. Most of the ingredients consist of all-natural ingredients. For example, grain powder can be made with grains, beans, sesame seeds and Barbary fig. These powders are beaten into finer particles and mixed with honey to create a dense dough texture. Once the consistency is there, they’re put into shaping tools to create delicate patterns of flowers, the Taegeuk emblem from the national flag or other traditional images. These days, shapes can be formed through a simple version of stamps. Nowadays these Korean traditional sweets can be overshadowed by modern desserts. That’s why Lee Yoon-sook works on keeping these alive. “I teach these classes with the hope that not only can people these days easily access our traditions, but also to blend aspects of Korean tradition and modernity in harmony.” So for those who aren’t familiar with these traditional sweets yet, why not give them a try. I would love to give it a try. My mouth was watering while watching your report. And that is why I have brought a box for you guys to have a taste. As you saw from the report, they’re very colorful and very nicely made. Now, as I mentioned, it's common to give chocolate to each other on Valentine's Day but why not something tasty and Korean? Could you introduce some other examples of traditional Korean sweets? Absolutely, more than excited to. Something similar to Dasik is Yakgwa which is also a traditional type of Korean cookie made from flour, honey, sesame oil and ginger. These small treats are deep-fried and then soaked in syrup to make a sticky but chewy dessert. Now this one used to be eaten during ancestral rites or celebrations, but nowadays it’s common to see it being served as a dessert. Gaeseong juak which is my current go-to snack is a traditional Korean rice donut that is deep fried and coated in syrup. They’re very chewy and sweet. Since you also went to a studio to make these, I’m sure these are a great ways to become familiar with Korean traditions as well. Right Soa! Not only is the dessert itself a good way to expose yourself to the tradition, but studios like the one I went to provide opportunities for both foreigners and locals to try making them. Thanks for introducing another traditional and tasty Korean sweet for us to enjoy today! Had so much fun myself! See you guys soon.

Latest in K-Sports

2025/02/14 14:00

It's time for the latest in the world of K-sports. From the Asian Winter Games to the LPGA and an amazing career coming to an end. For all of that, we're joined by our sportscaster Jason Lee in the studio. Hello Jason! Hello! With the Asian Winter games taking place all week in Harbin, China, there's obviously a lot to cover First off, what's the latest in the medal standings? Korea will be 2nd in the gold medal standings with (15, 16 for the time being) Korea might win an extra gold medal with 1 final event that is taking place right now which I'll get into a little more later The Asian Winter games is usually a 3-country race in the standings between Korea, China and Japan and it's no different this year. No other country won more than 3 golds. Korea has won a lot of gold medals, and as always, a good number of them came in Short Track Speed Skating how exactly did Korea's speed skaters do? Korea did GREAT winning 6 of the 9 gold medals in short track speed skating. Choi Min-Jeong won 3 of those in the women's 500, 1000 and the mixed team relay. If there's anything disappointing, Korea didn't win any medal at all in both the men's and women's relay which is very unexpected so perhaps something to work on for Milano-Cortina next year. Also winning gold for Korea was Kim Gilli in the women's 1500m As well as Jang Sung-Woo in the men's 1000m and Park Ji-Won in the men's 1500m I should also mention that Korea also did great in long track speed skating as they won 3 gold medals courtesy of Lee Na-Hyun in the women's 100m, Kim Minsun in the women's 500m as well as the Women's Team Sprint. Also on the ice, Korea might have its next Kim Yuna, but it's someone that no one expected? Yeah, you could say that Of course we all expected Cha Jun-Hwan to win the gold medal in men's figure skating and he certainly didn't dissappoint! The surprise however, came in the women's event where Kim Chae-Yeon upset 3-time World Champion Kaori Sakamoto to win the gold medal. Kim had personal best scores in both her short program and free skate after nailing each of her jumps. Kim is just 18 years old and will be making her Olympic debut next year in Milan-Cortina so hopefully this will give her the confidence to soar and also give her some more credibility with the judges by then. And I should also mention that Mokdong Ice Rink will be hosting the Four Continents Championship next week from February 19th to the 23rd where you can see Kim Chae-Yeon, Cha Jun-Hwan as well as many other top figure skaters from around the world. Let's slide over from the ice to the SNOW. Korea hasn't been as successful on the SLOPES when it comes to winter sports. How did Korean athletes do this time? Korea did claim some gold on the slopes as Lee Seung-Hun won the men's freestyle ski halfpipe event. Also you might remember I said Lee Chae-Un was a rising star to watch for in snowboarding. He ended up finishing 6th in the half-pipe which he was favoured to win, but the reason is that poor weather conditions cancelled the men's final and snowboarders were ranked based on their preliminary scores. Now Korea did still win the gold medal in the halfpipe as Kim Geon-Hui was the leader after the preliminaries so not ALL was lost and Lee Chae-Un still did win a gold medal as he won the slopestyle event. And one more snow gold for Korea as Ekaterina Avvakumova won gold in women's biathlon. And one of the fastest rising sports in Korea when it comes to popularity is curling how did Korea fare in Harbin? So that is the one extra gold medal that Korea could add to their total as Korea is playing China right now in the women's curling final. Korea did beat them in the preliminaries so is the clear favourite, but they are still playing right now. In the men's final, Korea met the Philipines in the finals and Meanwhile Korea settled for a silver medal in the mixed doubles after losing to Japan in the final 7-6 One more sport we wanted to talk about beyond the Asian Games something Bella likes to play Golf! There was a Korean that won the LPGA's season opening event, right? Yes, Kim A-Lim won the season opening Tournament of Champions. When we last talked, I mentioned she opened with a 7-under-65 for a 4 stroke lead she then rattled off rounds of 69, 67 and 67 for a 2 stroke win over Nelly Korda. Ko Jin-Young finished in a tie for 4th place and Ko also finished 2nd in this past weekend's tournament behind Korean-American Yealimi Noh And one last piece of news volleyball star Kim Yeon-koung has announced she will retire. What is her legacy? Thank you very much for all the exciting sports news Jason. Have a great weekend. Thank you Bella. We'll see you next week.

[Short-form] K-movie “Harbin” spolights Ahn Jung-geun

2025/02/14 14:00

Discover places in Seoul where Korea’s national hero and patriotic martyr Ahn Jung-geun’s legacy lives on

[K-enter] Jisoo is back with solo mini-album "AMORTAGE"

2025/02/14 14:00

Time for some K-entertainment news with Bella Kim. Today we start off with a story on BLACKPINK member Jisoo! Yes, we talked several times on our show about Jisoo’s comeback. Well, the day is finally here! She released her solo mini-album “AMORTAGE” on Friday. This album marks Jisoo’s first solo release in nearly two years after her last single “ME” in 2023. It’s also the first album released under her own label, BLISSOO, where she is the only artist. The album title combines the Spanish word for love, “Amor,” with “Montage,” a film editing technique that stitches together different scenes. The album features four tracks in total. Two Korean songs: “earthquake” and “TEARS” and two English songs: “Your Love” and “Hugs & Kisses.” The track “earthquake” captures the excitement of new love and intense emotions for a partner. It’s also notable that Jisoo participated in the production of all tracks on the album. To celebrate the release, Jisoo hosts a fan event, “SOO IN LOVE,” at CGV Cheongdam Cinecity in Seoul this evening. She will also embark on a fan meeting tour across seven Asian cities, including Manila, Bangkok and Tokyo. Can't wait to hear her mini album, which should be out now as the release time is 2 p.m. Korea time. Next, we have an impressive record by a Korean movie? The film “Bogota: City of the Lost” topped Netflix’s Non-English Language Film category. According to its distributor, Plus M Entertainment, on Thursday, “Bogota” recorded 13 million views on the first week of February, ranking first in Netflix’s non-English language film category, and second in the combined ranking of English-speaking and non-English-speaking films. It ranked first in 10 countries, including Korea and Colombia, which is the background of the movie, and also made the top 10 in 73 countries. “Bogota” is a crime story about a boy, Kook-hee, played by Song Joong-ki, who headed to Bogota, Colombia, immediately after the 1997 financial crisis. It actually did not do so good in theaters as it only collected 420-thousand audience views in total, far below its break-even point of 3 million. But it’s great to see it doing well on Netflix. And we stay on the topic of film for our last story as well and this one IS doing well at the cinemas? The hit movie, “Hitman 2” will premiere in 54 countries around the globe. The film already premiered in the U.S and Canada, and will continue with its release in Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam and other countries. The sequel to the 2020 movie “Hitman” is a story of Jun, a secret agent-turned-cartoonist, who is framed for a terrorist attack that mimics his newly released online comic. It stars Kwon Sang-woo, Jung Jun-ho, Lee Yi-kyung and more. “Hitman 2” succeeded in breaking the break-even point last week and is currently in second place at the Korean Box Office. I was able to catch it in theaters, and it’s hilarious, so if it premieres in your own country, make sure to watch it! Thank you Bella for today’s stories.

[Weather] Big rise in highs with normal air quality, comfortable weekend ahead

2025/02/14 10:00

Welcome news for those waiting for some warmer weather, temperatures will rise to around 10 degrees Celsius this afternoon in Seoul making it feel much more like early spring. Let's jump right into today's highs. Gwangju also gets up to 10 degrees, Daegu and Busan will see a high of 12 degrees. It will be sunny to partly sunny in most parts, the east coast remains under a dry weather advisory. We are expecting decent air quality during the day but the capital and Chungcheong-do Provinces could see dusty air at night. Both Saturday and Sunday will bring mild and comfortable conditions. Daytime highs should stay above norms but with a chance of bad air quality in many parts of Korea. Meanwhile, the south coast and Jeju could be rainy on Saturday. Don't put away those winter coats just yet! A cold front is set to arrive next week, bringing another round of freezing temperatures. Morning lows could dip below minus 5 degrees Celsius in Seoul, reminding winter isn't quite done with us yet.

No women make list of top 100-paid athletes topped by Ronaldo

2025/02/14 10:00

Sports industry news site Sportico released its list of the highest-paid athletes in 2024 on Thursday, with Portuguese football player Cristiano Ronaldo on top for the second consecutive year, with 260 million U.S. dollars earned. Stephen Curry, Tyson Fury, Lionel Messi, and LeBron James completed the top 5. The top 100 athletes collectively earned 6.2 billion dollars, marking a 14% increase from the previous year. Notably, no female athletes made the top 100 list, with the highest-earning woman being tennis star Coco Gauff, with total earnings of 30.4 million dollars.

U.S. deports 119 migrants of various nationalities to Panama

2025/02/14 10:00

Over in Panama, President Jose Raul Mulino said Thursday, that the country received its first U.S. deportation flight the previous day, carrying 119 migrants from various nationalities, including China, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. The initiative follows an agreement with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, designating Panama as a transit point for deported individuals. The migrants will be temporarily housed in a shelter in Panama's Darien region before being repatriated to their home countries. Two more flights are planned, totaling approximately 360 deportees.

Afghan asylum-seeker drives into Munich crowd, hurts 30 in suspected attack

2025/02/14 10:00

In the German city of Munich, a driver drove a car into a crowd leaving at least 30 people injured. On Thursday local time, a white Mini Cooper plowed into a crowd at a trade union rally near Munich's central train station. The driver, a 24-year-old Afghan asylum seeker, was arrested. The incident injured 30 people, including children, and several victims sustained serious injuries. Authorities believe the act was deliberate, though the exact motive is still being investigated. The suspect had a history of minor offenses, and his asylum application had been rejected in 2020. Yet, deportation was deferred due to safety concerns in Afghanistan.

UK's foreign secretary and Chinese counterpart hold talks

2025/02/14 10:00

Starting in the United Kingdom, the Chinese Foreign Minister is in London and has held talks with several top British figures. That's right. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, made his first official visit to the UK in almost a decade, to discuss bilateral issues. On Thursday, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, marking the revival of the UK-China Strategic Dialogue after a seven-year halt. The talks encompassed bilateral economic cooperation, international security, and areas of contention. Lammy emphasized the importance of addressing issues where the UK and China "do not always see eye to eye," stressing the UK's concerns in some areas. Key points included China's support for Russia amid the ongoing Ukraine conflict, human rights issues in Hong Kong, and the situation in Xinjiang. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also attended the meeting of two foreign ministers, highlighting the UK's dedication to establishing a consistent and respectful bilateral relationship.

U.S. space commander warns N. Korea from challenging ROK-U.S. alliance

2025/02/14 10:00

The commander of the U.S. Space Operations Command said that North Korea's missile technology has become the biggest threat to the Korean Peninsula, but warned Pyongyang against any attempt to challenge the ROK-U.S. alliance. Speaking to Seoul-based Yonhap News Agency on Thursday, Lieutenant General David Miller expressed concerns over the North's continued development and launch of ballistic missiles. He stressed that it's difficult to predict what the North will do next, adding that the U.S. has been focused on detecting and tracking North Korean missiles. However, Miller says the South Korea-U.S. alliance is stronger than ever in the face of Pyongyang's threats, and emphasized that it would be a "mistake" to challenge the strength of the alliance.

N. Korea begins dismantling symbolic facility near border that hosted meetings for war-separated families

2025/02/14 10:00

North Korea started to destroy a reunion center for separated families near the inter-Korean border amid icy ties with the South. Seoul urged the regime to immediately stop its actions. Our Bae Eun-ji reports. The Inter-Korean Family Reunion Center, located at Kumgangsan Mountain has been a symbol of peace as it has been used to host tearful reunions of families separated for decades by the Korean War. Since 2009, it has hosted five meetings between families from the two Koreas, and the last family reunion was held there in August 2018. But on Thursday, the South Korean government said the North has begun dismantling the facility, in the latest sign of strained inter-Korean ties, after the regime described the South as "its principal enemy." The Unification Ministry spokesperson urged the North to immediately halt its actions, adding that the government plans to consider legal measures over the action and a joint response with the international community. "The demolition of the facility is an anti-humanitarian act that tramples on the wishes of separated families, and a violation of South Korea's assets." Upon an agreement between the two Koreas, the 12-story reunion center was built in July 2008, at a cost of over 35 million dollars. The building was the last remaining South Korean-owned facility in the Kumgansan Mountain tourist region as the North has been demolishing facilities there over the past few years. After the Hanoi summit between the United States and North Korea ended in failure in February 2019, Kim Jong-un visited the resort area later that year in October.. and ordered the removal of South Korean facilities there, saying they were "shabby," and that they looked like "makeshift tents in a disaster-stricken area." Since 2022, the regime has destroyed other facilities including a hotel, a fire station, and a golf clubhouse leaving only the reunion center, which it has also started to tear down. Bae Eun-ji, Arirang News.

Conflicting statements continue as Constitutional Court schedules extra hearing for President Yoon's impeachment trial

2025/02/14 10:00

The Constitutional Court has decided to hold an extra hearing next week for President Yoon's impeachment trial to summarize the arguments. If the hearings do come to an end next week, the ruling could come as early as March. Oh Soo-young reports. The battle of narratives continued at President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment trial, as the eighth and initially last session was extended with another hearing scheduled for next Tuesday. Cho Sung-hyun, the Head of the Capital Defense Command's 1st Security Group, said he had been ordered by his Commander Lee Jin-woo to pull out legislators from the parliamentary building. Lee Jin-woo who was questioned at the Court last week had refused to answer whether he'd been given such an order by Yoon, due to his ongoing criminal trial, while the President has denied issuing such instructions. Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun has claimed the order was to pull out "agents" or "yo-won" , not "legislators" or "ui-won" , while Special Warfare Commander Kwak Jong-geun said the President said "persons" or "in-won" . More conflicting statements emerged during the session. National Intelligence Service chief Cho Tae-yong cast doubt over the claims made by his deputy last week that the President ordered the arrest of politicians on the night of December 3rd. Deputy Director Hong Jang-won had said he had heard fourteen to sixteen public figures named as targets for arrest by Counterintelligence Commander Yeo In-hyung which he wrote down on a notepad outside the Director Cho's residence. He claimed his secretary helped decipher it later, thus there are two notes in total. However, Cho says, based on CCTV footage, Hong was not outside, but in his office at the time he said he wrote the memo. The Director also said there appeared to be four versions of the note, appearing to suggest there's been some fabrication on Hong's part. Cho questioned Hong's political neutrality, adding he heard last year in a parliamentary committee meeting that Hong had made seven separate requests regarding personnel appointments to a former opposition party lawmaker who previously worked at the NIS under the last administration. On Thursday, former Seoul Metropolitan Police Commissioner Kim Bong-sik also testified. Kim said that he had deployed police to the National Assembly to ensure public safety,.. and denied he'd been given orders to make arrests. As witness statements continue to clash, the President's side today also reapplied for Prime Minister Han Duck-soo to be called as a witness, whom the Court rejected on Tuesday, and asked to re-summon Hong Jang-won. They also asked for National Police Agency Commissioner General Cho Ji-ho to be made to stand as a witness, as he failed to show up twice due to health reasons. Justices will review the new witness applications on Friday. So far, the court has accepted a total of 15 witnesses in the impeachment trial—seven requested by the National Assembly and eight by President Yoon’s side. This compares to the 36 approved during former President Park Geun-hye's impeachment trial. "For now, the Court has scheduled a ninth hearing for next Tuesday at 2 PM, where each legal team will have two hours to summarize their arguments. If the hearings conclude next week, observers say the ruling could be made around early March. Park Geun-hye's impeachment was upheld after 11 days, while former President Roh Moo-hyun's was dismissed after 14 days. Oh Soo-young, Arirang News."

S. Korea sweeps Winter AG figure skating singles

2025/02/14 10:00

South Korean figure skaters proved to be No. 1 at the Winter Asian Games in Harbin on Thursday, securing golds in both the men's and women's figure skating singles events. Lee Seung-jae has more. South Korea added three more gold medals to their tally on Thursday and made history in the process, winning gold medals in both the women's and men's figure skating singles event, which was a first for the country. Female figure skater Kim Chae-yeon and male figure skater Cha Jun-hwan both ranked second after the short program earlier in the week. However, both skaters came back on Thursday with flawless free skates. Cha scored 187-point-6-0 points in the men's singles free skating program, finishing with a final tally of 281-point-6-9 points for the top podium finish. Kim scored 147-point-5-6 points in the free skate to finish with 219-point-4-4 points overall, a personal best, beating three-time world champion Kaori Sakamoto of Japan for the gold medal. Over in the men's snowboard halfpipe event,.. Mother Nature assisted South Korean snowboarder Kim Geon-hui on Thursday. The final was canceled due to blustery conditions, and officials awarded Kim the gold medal, after scoring the best qualifying score of 78 points. The gold medal finish gave South Korea its 15th top podium finish at the Winter Asian Games, and clinched second place in the medal rankings. With the Winter Asian Games in Harbin set to end on Friday, South Korea will look to add a couple more gold medals to surpass their all-time best gold tally. South Korea will compete for gold medals in both men's and women's curling. The men's team will face off against the Philippines, while the women's team will play China. Both the men's and women's team had previously defeated their opponents during the earlier round-robin play. With one day of competition left, South Korea is second behind China in the medal rankings,.. with 15 gold medals, 14 silver, and 13 bronze,.. for a total of 42 medals. Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.

Newly declassified inter-Korean talks reveal Pyongyang’s shifting stance on division

2025/02/13 20:00

Staying at the Unification Ministry. Officials there today made public a collection of past cross-border interactions that offers an interesting insight into North Korea's shifting policy toward South Korea. Our North Korean affairs correspondent Kim Jung-sil explains. Looking back at history may offer insights into the future, especially when it comes to inter-Korean relations. On Thursday, the Ministry of Unification released newly declassified records of inter-Korean talks from the mid-1980s to early 1990s, as part of its ongoing efforts to enhance public access to information and deepen understanding of North Korea. One of the most striking revelations from these records is how North Korea's stance on inter-Korean division has dramatically changed—contradicting what it once asserted. In official transcripts from 1990, Pyongyang condemned South Korea's anti-tank barriers near the military demarcation line, calling them a "symbol of permanent division." It stated: "It is already heartbreaking that a military demarcation line exists within our nation, but having an artificial barrier built on top of it is nothing short of a national disgrace." North Korea further demanded the removal of these barriers saying , "The concrete wall in the southern part of the demarcation line must be removed." Yet fast forward to today, Pyongyang is building its own barriers along the DMZ, demolishing cross-border roads and railways, and rejecting reunification—declaring South Korea a hostile state. As North Korea reinforces division, the Ministry of Unification is shedding light on the past. It says these records provide critical insight into Pyongyang's evolving stance on division and inter-Korean relations. "Through these newly declassified documents, the public can get a vivid look at inter-Korean dialogue in the late 1980s and the records of preliminary meetings held in preparation for high-level talks in the 1990s." Those interested in reviewing these records can visit the Ministry of Unification's Inter-Korean Relations Management Bureau website or the Information Center on North Korea in Seoul. Kim Jung-sil, Arirang News.

N. Korea begins dismantling symbolic facility near border that hosted meetings for war-separated families

2025/02/13 20:00

Moving on. North Korea now starts destroying a reunion center for separated families near the inter-Korean border amid strained ties with the South. Seoul urges the regime to immediately stop its actions. Our Correspondent Bae Eun-ji reports. The Inter-Korean Family Reunion Center, located at Kumgangsan Mountain has been a symbol of peace as it has been used to host tearful reunions of families separated for decades by the Korean War. Since 2009, it has hosted five meetings between families from the two Koreas, and the last family reunion was held there in August 2018. But on Thursday, the South Korean government said the North has begun dismantling the facility, in the latest sign of strained inter-Korean ties, after the regime described the South as "its principal enemy." The Unification Ministry spokesperson urged the North to immediately halt its actions, adding that the government plans to consider legal measures over the action and a joint response with the international community. "The demolition of the facility is an anti-humanitarian act that tramples on the wishes of separated families, and a violation of South Korea's assets." Upon an agreement between the two Koreas, the 12-story reunion center was built in July 2008, at a cost of over 35 million dollars. The building was the last remaining South Korean-owned facility in the Kumgansan Mountain tourist region as the North has been demolishing facilities there over the past few years. After the Hanoi summit between the United States and North Korea ended in failure in February 2019, Kim Jong-un visited the resort area later that year in October.. and ordered the removal of South Korean facilities there, saying they were "shabby," and that they looked like "makeshift tents in a disaster-stricken area." Since 2022, the regime has destroyed other facilities including a hotel, a fire station, and a golf clubhouse leaving only the reunion center, which it has also started to tear down. Bae Eun-ji, Arirang News.

Trump held phone calls with Russia, Ukraine discussing peace talks; What next?

2025/02/13 20:00

Talks could start sooner than later to end the crisis in Ukraine. U.S. President Donald Trump held phone calls with the leaders of both Russia and Ukraine and signaled a potential breakthrough in ending the war. Park Kun-woo takes a closer look. Hopes of peace talks to end the Russia-Ukraine war are growing. On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump said he had a phone call lasting over an hour with Russian President Vladimir Putin, discussing securing a ceasefire in the near future. "I can say with great confidence he wants to see it ended also. That's good. And we're going to work toward getting it ended and as fast as possible." He added he ordered top U.S. officials to begin talks aimed at ending the war. Both leaders also agreed to meet in the future, with Putin inviting Trump to Moscow. Aside from that, Trump said their first meeting would probably take place in Saudi Arabia. Trump also had a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday, which Zelenskyy described as a long and meaningful discussion. "We believe that America's strength, together with us and all our partners, is enough to pressure Russia and Putin into peace." However, one expert says some uncertain factors, including Ukraine's potential membership in NATO, remain that can complicate the peace talks from proceeding. "I think Ukraine's stance to join NATO will not be accepted. Instead, Ukraine will still likely negotiate to secure at least some form of security assistance from the U.S." Setting territorial boundaries for Russia and Ukraine is another issue. "Since Russia's goal was to gain more territory, this is a part it cannot easily concede. However, the justification for this is weaker than opposing Ukraine's NATO membership. But it seems likely that Russia will give up some territory in exchange for things like U.S.' sanctions relief." This comes with Russia currently occupying around 20 percent of Ukrainian territory, including Crimea and the areas of Donetsk and Luhansk that were taken before 2022. But the expert also stressed that it's unfortunate to see such a colonial-style expansion well after World War Two as countries had previously agreed to stop, and that it will now be remembered as a very bad precedent. Park Kun-woo, Arirang News.

Conflicting statements continue as Constitutional Court schedules extra hearing for President Yoon's impeachment trial

2025/02/13 20:00

Thank you for joining us. I'm Yoon Jung-min. President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment trial is nearing its end, but clashes continued at the Constitutional Court today. The Court has decided to add an extra hearing for next week to summarize the arguments. Our Correspondent Oh Soo-young begins our coverage. The battle of narratives continued at President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment trial, as the eighth and initially last session was extended with another hearing scheduled for next Tuesday. Cho Sung-hyun, the Head of the Capital Defense Command's 1st Security Group, said he had been ordered by his Commander Lee Jin-woo to pull out legislators from the parliamentary building. Lee Jin-woo who was questioned at the Court last week had refused to answer whether he'd been given such an order by Yoon, due to his ongoing criminal trial, while the President has denied issuing such instructions. Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun has claimed the order was to pull out "agents" or "yo-won" , not "legislators" or "ui-won" , while Special Warfare Commander Kwak Jong-geun said the President said "persons" or "in-won" . More conflicting statements emerged during the session. National Intelligence Service chief Cho Tae-yong cast doubt over the claims made by his deputy last week that the President ordered the arrest of politicians on the night of December 3rd. Deputy Director Hong Jang-won had said he had heard fourteen to sixteen public figures named as targets for arrest by Counterintelligence Commander Yeo In-hyung which he wrote down on a notepad outside the Director Cho's residence. He claimed his secretary helped decipher it later, thus there are two notes in total. However, Cho says, based on CCTV footage, Hong was not outside, but in his office at the time he said he wrote the memo. The Director also said there appeared to be four versions of the note, appearing to suggest there's been some fabrication on Hong's part. Cho questioned Hong's political neutrality, adding he heard last year in a parliamentary committee meeting that Hong had made seven separate requests regarding personnel appointments to a former opposition party lawmaker who previously worked at the NIS under the last administration. On Thursday, former Seoul Metropolitan Police Commissioner Kim Bong-sik also testified. Kim said that he had deployed police to the National Assembly to ensure public safety,.. and denied he'd been given orders to make arrests. As witness statements continue to clash, the President's side today also reapplied for Prime Minister Han Duck-soo to be called as a witness, whom the Court rejected on Tuesday, and asked to re-summon Hong Jang-won. They also asked for National Police Agency Commissioner General Cho Ji-ho to be made to stand as a witness, as he failed to show up twice due to health reasons. Justices will review the new witness applications on Friday. So far, the court has accepted a total of 15 witnesses in the impeachment trial—seven requested by the National Assembly and eight by President Yoon's side. This compares to the 36 approved during former President Park Geun-hye's impeachment trial. "For now, the Court has scheduled a ninth hearing for next Tuesday at 2 PM, where each legal team will have two hours to summarize their arguments. If the hearings conclude next week, observers say the ruling could be made around early March. Park Geun-hye's impeachment was upheld after 11 days, while former President Roh Moo-hyun's was dismissed after 14 days. Oh Soo-young, Arirang News."

[Weather] Milder conditions all over the country through the weekend

2025/02/13 20:00

Even though it was a freezing morning across the country, early spring-like weather will be seen tomorrow with Seoul rising up to 10 degrees Celsius during the day. These milder conditions will continue throughout the weekend. In the meantime, the atmosphere is still drying up in east coast areas with dry weather advisories in place. In addition to dry conditions, there are preliminary warnings for strong winds in the same areas. Please take extra care not to cause any fire-related accidents. Tomorrow morning, Seoul, Daejeon, Gwangju, and Gyeongju will start off at minus 2 degrees, Chuncheon at minus 6 degrees. Daily highs will get up to around 10 degrees all over the country with Gwangju, Busan, and Jeju at 11 degrees. It is expected to rain on the coastal areas of Jeollanam-do and Gyeongsangnam-do Provinces, and Jeju Island this weekend. That's all for Korea. Here are the weather conditions around the world.

[Econ & Biz] DeepSeek's impact on AI market: what is it and what does it mean?

2025/02/13 20:00

Chinese AI start-up DeepSeek is making waves with what it says is a cost-efficient model. But with alleged data privacy risks, it has prompted global scrutiny, market upheaval, and government crackdowns. Our business correspondent Moon Hye-ryeon joins us in the studio with this topic. Hye-ryeon, can you explain the controversies surrounding DeepSeek? As you said, Jung-min, DeepSeek is currently under global scrutiny after claiming its new "R1" model can rival existing AI models in the market such as ChatGPT at just a fraction of the cost. With this news, its AI chatbot topped ChatGPT in app store downloads as users began to try this new model for themselves to test the claim. But as more and more users gathered, concerns over excessive data collection such as keyboard stroke patterns that could be used to identify specific users, have sparked privacy fears. "Collecting keystroke patterns to identify individuals doesn't necessarily mean a better service, so that's why it seems a bit excessive." And another issue with DeepSeek's data collection is that users can't opt out of having their data collected, unlike ChatGPT. Along with these fears regarding user data is speculation of third-party access, as the information is stored in servers in China something that South Korea's National Intelligence Service confirmed on Sunday, as it cited that Chinese advertisers are being given unlimited access to DeepSeek's user data. Reports of content censorship also raised questions about DeepSeek's AI chatbot failing to produce accurate information due to heavy reliance on China's official stance on certain subjects. With these controversies, how have investors and industry insiders been responding? With doubts surrounding DeepSeek's development process, Microsoft and OpenAI launched a probe into suspected data exfiltration by individuals that could be linked to the Chinese firm. Companies in non-AI-related sectors, such as those in South Korea, responded to data privacy concerns by restricting employee access to DeepSeek on work computers. However, global investors indicated their anticipation for DeepSeek by wiping billions of dollars off Nvidia's market value – resulting in the biggest market cap loss ever for a U.S. company. There are mixed views from experts and industry insiders on these reactions regarding whether this attention is warranted, with some saying that DeepSeek had the second-mover advantage. "When you have an amazing solution coming from OpenAI, you know that it can be done. Then the question changes a little bit – shifts towards, "How can we do that in a more efficient way." And with the current competition between the U.S. and China, how are global leaders and governments responding to this AI race? South Korea, Australia, and Japan's government ministries moved to also block DeepSeek access on computers connected to external networks, while Italy has blocked the app from app stores altogether, citing user data privacy. But some are saying that the reason why DeepSeek even came about in the first place is because of such restrictive regulations. Here's what an expert said. "I think that it symbolizes that the AI competition will be severe, and although one country will like to restrict the AI development of the other country, they will AI will always find innovative ways of how to develop." But global leaders and firms gathered in Paris amid calls for universal AI regulation where 60 countries signed a statement listing priorities such as transparency, safety, and sustainability for future AI development. The U.S. and the UK, however, refused to sign the statement. "The United States of America is the leader in AI, and our administration plans to keep it that way." U.S. Vice President Vance shared the view that too many regulations can "kill" a developing industry such as AI as it takes off and stated the Trump administration's plans to take full "advantage" of its position in the market. The U.S. recently billed "The Stargate Project" which aims to build AI infrastructure in the U.S. worth 500 billion U.S. dollars. As the AI race between Washington and Beijing heightens and countries seek to establish regulations to keep them in check in an increasingly complex technological landscape, eyes are on how the balance of innovation with security will play out. Thank you for the wrap-up, Hye-ryeon. Thank you for having me.