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COVER STORY North Korea has every incentive to keep stealing crypto, analysts say

The $6.36 billion cryptocurrency heist targeting Binance has exposed a troubling reality for the digital asset industry: North Korea is increasingly exploiting security vulnerabilities to bankroll Pyongyang's military ambitions. The stolen amount is equivalent to 22 percent of North Korea's 2025 gross domestic product, making the attack the largest cryptocurrency theft on record and one of the biggest financial crimes in history. Analysts warned Sunday that it is unlikely to be the last. "We're dealing with sophisticated adversaries who may have substantial resources, years of patience and objectives that extend well beyond financial gain," said Michael O'Loughlin, managing partner of Argonautic Global and board member of Blockchain Ireland. Proceeds from cryptocurrency theft have become an increasingly important source of funding for cash-strapped North Korea, alongside an estimated $22 billion in foreign income generated since 2022 through its support for Russia's war in Ukraine. The stolen funds could help finance its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, as well as efforts to modern

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Overseas trips add to debate over Korea's shifting political standards

President Lee Jae Myung’s overseas trips have again drawn attention to Korea’s shifting political standards, adding to a familiar cycle of disputes over presidential golf and the presidential plane whenever power passes between conservative and liberal administrations. The controversies center on taxpayer money and the public's attitudes toward presidential privilege, with governing parties defending certain activities as necessary for diplomacy or official duties and the opposition calling them wasteful or excessive — arguments that often switch sides under successive administrations. In the latest controversy, National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac on Friday defended the frequency of Lee’s overseas trips accompanied by first lady Kim Hea Kyung. “Korea’s international standing requires its president to attend regular multilateral gatherings and bilateral visits,” Wi said. “Spouses also accompany leaders as an established diplomatic practice.” Wi’s defense followed an Oct. 1 analysis by Rep. Lee Jin-sook of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP). It counted 14 tri

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US visa issuance delay emerges as political wrangling over alliance

The delay of U.S. visa issuance for a ruling party lawmaker has become a topic of debate between rival parties over whether it is a sign of growing friction in the Korea-U.S. alliance. The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) called the incident a clear sign of eroded trust within the alliance. "It is a symbolic moment that clearly exposes the widening rift in the Korea-U.S. alliance and the total breakdown of trust between the two countries,” Rep. Park Sung-hoon, senior spokesperson for the PPP, said in a statement Saturday. “It is an unprecedented diplomatic embarrassment and a national disgrace that the chairman of Korea's parliamentary defense committee was required to submit an English translation of a past National Security Act conviction and a criminal record check to the U.S., our ally, before finally receiving entry permission,” Park wrote. Park's statement came after Rep. Jin Sung-joon of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), the chairman of the Assembly's National Defense Committee, announced that his visa was issued belatedly, a day before the committee's plan

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Lions beat Tigers to reach Korean Series

For the second time in three seasons, the Samsung Lions are headed to the Korean Series. The Lions defeated the Kia Tigers 6-1 in Game 5 of the second round in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason Sunday at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in Daegu, some 230 kilometers southeast of Seoul. Leadoff man Kim Ji-chan had three hits and three RBIs to back starter Ariel Jurado, who tossed seven strong innings to earn his second win of the series. Jurado, who threw 6 2/3 innings of two-run ball in his Game 2 victory last Tuesday, was voted the series MVP. With a sellout crowd of 23,550 fans on hand, the Lions took the best-of-five series in five games to punch their ticket to the Korean Series, where they will face the regular-season champions KT Wiz. The best-of-seven championship battle will begin at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, some 30 kilometers south of Seoul. The Wiz earned a bye to the Korean Series. They have not played since their regular-season finale on Oct. 12. The Wiz are gunning for their second championship. They won it all in 2021 and lost to the LG Twins in the 2

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OpenAI CEO's Codex keyboard gift to Samsung presidents draws attention

A miniature keyboard presented by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to Samsung Group executives is drawing attention, as the device is designed not for conventional typing but specifically for vibe coding using OpenAI's Codex. The gift is being seen as a glimpse into what Altman described to the executives as OpenAI's vision for the future of computer interaction. According to OpenAI and Samsung, Altman visited a Samsung Group training center in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, Saturday and engaged in a fireside chat with more than 50 presidents of Samsung Electronics and other affiliates. During the event, Altman presented the Samsung executives with Codex Micro keyboards, designed to be used with Codex. Altman said the keyboard reflects the idea that people may no longer need a full keyboard in a world where they can interact with computers through voice commands and artificial intelligence (AI), adding that the device could also help users work with Codex more quickly. The Codex Micro Keyboard is a miniature keyboard released as the first hardware product under the OpenAI brand. Developed in collaborati

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NK's economic growth is 'temporary' thanks to Russia-Ukraine war, study says

North Korea’s recent economic growth in the 3 percent range was a “temporary war windfall” from the Russia-Ukraine war that would potentially lead to reduced domestic consumption, according to an analysis released by a think tank run by South Korea's spy agency on Sunday. In a research paper titled “Is North Korea’s economy really booming?” released Thursday by the Institute for National Security Strategy (INSS), a South Korean state-run think tank affiliated with the National Intelligence Service (NIS), senior research fellow Lim Soo-ho wrote, “What North Korea is enjoying right now is not genuine growth in its domestic economy, but rather a predatory expansion — a temporary windfall in regime finances built on war profits and inflation tax.” “North Korea’s recent economic growth has been heavily driven by a unilateral surge in heavy industry and construction … Those facilities and manufactured munitions yield almost no tangible benefit for public livelihood,” he added. Citing Bank of Korea estimates, showing North Korea’s real gross domestic product grew by

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Winners of 57th Modern Korean Literature Translation Awards

The Korea Times is pleased to announce the winners of its 57th Modern Korean Literature Translation Awards, one of the longest-running honors dedicated to Korean literary translation. The Grand Prize in fiction, awarded by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, went to Breanna Hundley of the United States for her translation of novelist Cho Ye-eun’s “How to Get Your Deposit Back.” The Commendation Award for fiction was given to Jude Vandervort of the U.S. for his translation of Jeong Ji-a’s novel “Bead by Bead.” Two Commendation Awards in poetry went to Noh Hye-yeon for her translation of poems by Lee Su-myeong, including “To Unfold a Bird,” and to Park Se-yeon for her translation of poems by An Hee-yeon, including “There Was a Fire.” No Grand Prize was awarded in poetry this year, as the jury found the poetry submissions less strong overall than those in fiction and judged that two commendations would more fairly recognize the promise shown by translators. The Kevin O’Rourke Prize was awarded to Ku Bon-seung of the U.S. for his translation of Danyao’s “Gir

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Weekender

InterviewExpanding horizon of Korean language education in US

Driven by the global rise of K-pop and K-dramas, interest in learning the Korean language, including Hangeul or the Korean alphabet, has exploded across the United States in recent years. This growing enthusiasm has reached far beyond the Korean American community to include non-native speakers, adoptees and multicultural families. Standing at the center of this trend is Soojin Cho, a veteran educator who has spent nearly three decades teaching Hangeul to younger generations and expanding Korean language education in America. In recognition of her lifelong dedication, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism awarded Cho the Cultural Merit Medal during the 580th Hangeul Day national celebration in Seoul, Oct. 9. The Korean government commended her for developing vital Korean language curricula for students overseas and leading regional education networks. Receiving one of the highest honors for Hangeul advancement was a deeply rewarding moment for Cho, who served as the 12th and 13th president of the National Association for Korean Schools, Mid-Atlantic Chapter from 2022 to 2026. Under

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Hanwha bags 1st US Navy shipbuilding order

Hanwha Group has won its first contract to build a warship for the United States Navy after its acquisition of Philadelphia-based Philly Shipyard in December 2024, marking a tangible step forward in the Korea-U.S. shipbuilding cooperation initiative known as Make American Shipbuilding Great Again (MASGA). Hanwha Group said Sunday that Hanwha Defense USA has signed a $269 million (357.5 billion won) contract with TOTE Services to build a landing ship medium (LSM). TOTE Services is a vessel construction manager entrusted by the U.S. Navy with overseeing shipbuilding contracts and managing vessel construction. The construction of the LSM is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of next year, and the contract also includes options for three additional vessels. The LSM is an expeditionary landing vessel designed to support the U.S. Navy's operations in contested coastal areas, including the Indo-Pacific region. It is tasked with transporting and deploying Marine Corps personnel, equipment and supplies to coastal areas. The U.S. Navy aims to secure 35 LSMs. The vessel measures 100 meters in

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Hanwha Life, Hyundai Steel, Lotte Shopping among 151 firms flagged for persistently low valuations

Hanwha Life Insurance, Hyundai Steel and Lotte Shopping are among 151 companies publicly flagged by the Korea Exchange for their persistently low valuations. The bourse operator revealed the list Sunday in an unprecedented move aimed at pushing listed firms to improve their corporate value. The initiative targets companies that have consistently traded at low price-to-book ratios (PBRs) while doing little to return capital to shareholders. Whether the public disclosure will spur them to take concrete steps to boost their valuations and help narrow the so-called "Korea discount" remains to be seen. The list comprises 96 KOSPI-listed companies and 55 on the Kosdaq that ranked in the bottom 25 percent and 10 percent, respectively, of their markets in terms of PBR over the past three years. PBR measures a company's market capitalization relative to its net assets, showing how much investors are willing to pay for each unit of book value. A ratio below 1 means the company is valued at less than its net assets, potentially reflecting concerns about its growth prospects or how efficiently it d

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Samsung chairman highlights chip packaging, visits Japanese unit

Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong visited the company’s semiconductor advanced packaging technology laboratory in Japan, Sunday, pledging to continue expanding its research workforce there and develop the lab into a global R&D hub for next-generation packaging technologies. According to Samsung Electronics, Lee visited Advanced Package Lab (APL) in Yokohama and discussed with researchers the latest developments in technologies for advanced packaging materials and processes, as well as ways to strengthen cooperation with Japan's materials, parts and equipment industries. Lee stressed the importance of securing advanced packaging technologies, as they are emerging as critical for artificial intelligence (AI) processor chips. APL was established in 2023 and held its official opening ceremony in September this year. Starting in 2024, Samsung Electronics has been investing 40 billion yen ($254 million) over five years to establish its research infrastructure in Japan and strengthen its competitiveness in advanced packaging technologies. APL specializes in developing and va

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ISS backs Lee Jae-keun's appointment as KB Financial chairman

Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) has recommended that shareholders vote in favor of appointing Lee Jae-keun as chairman of KB Financial Group. In its voting recommendations report obtained by The Korea Times, Sunday, the world's largest proxy advisory firm said "a vote for this resolution is warranted given the absence of any known issues concerning the nominee and the company's board dynamics." ISS also noted that KB Financial Group maintains good disclosure practices regarding committee meetings, voluntarily providing attendance records to help shareholders better assess directors' effectiveness and contributions. Most companies in Korea follow a disclosure template provided by the Korea Exchange that does not require companies to disclose committee meeting attendance records. As a result, it is common for companies to omit such information from regulatory filings, ISS added. The recommendation comes ahead of KB Financial Group's extraordinary shareholders' meeting on Nov. 20, when shareholders will vote on Lee's appointment as group chairman. If appointed, Lee will lead the gr

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HD Hyundai Robotics, Palantir to slash robot programming costs with AI

HD Hyundai Robotics is working with Palantir Technologies to integrate artificial intelligence (AI), simulation and human engineers’ expertise into robot programming, aiming to cut programming costs by more than half. According to HD Hyundai Robotics on Sunday, Ahn Sung-hwan, the company's chief technology officer and vice president, outlined the collaboration during a keynote address at Palantir’s recent Sovereignty Bootcamp in New York. He presented his company’s strategy for applying physical AI and its vision for the technology. The collaboration focused on changing how human engineers can solve problems on factory floors. Under the two companies’ collaboration, AI agents analyze existing robot programs and propose improvements. The engineers can then refine what the AI comes up with using their practical experiences. Traditionally, skilled engineers have had to observe robots on-site and repeatedly adjust work sequences, movement paths and speeds. This reliance on individual experience has made the process difficult to standardize. HD Hyundai Robotics said the two companies

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PHOTOS Halloween returns to Itaewon

How many years does it take a neighborhood to recover from tragedy? Four years ago, central Seoul's multicultural Itaewon neighborhood suffered an unspeakable accident, when over 150 people were crushed to death in a crowded alley. In the two years following the disaster, there was an atmosphere of cautious commemoration under the watchful eye of a heavy police presence, as people worked through their trauma — and also feared judgment for being too celebratory. The area may never be the same again, but Halloween 2026 seemed a step closer back to business as usual. Halloween decorations were popping up through the neighborhood over the past few weeks, and hardcore Christians were out protesting the holiday and its perceived queerness. But it was not until Friday that the crowds really started showing up. On Saturday, the main road through Itaewon was closed off to road traffic — a precautioun that should have been taken four years ago — handing the street over to tens of thousands of pedestrians celebrating the holiday. Making room in the streets helped significantly to reduce the p

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CJ Olive Young expands Olive Better wellness chain to 5 locations

CJ Olive Young has expanded its Olive Better wellness retail platform to five locations, adding branches tailored to office workers and tourists as it seeks to make wellness products part of consumers’ everyday routines. The expansion comes nine months after the first store opened in Seoul’s Gwanghwamun area in January. The company added stores at Starfield Coex Mall in southern Seoul and in Seongsu in eastern Seoul both last month, adapting product selections and experiences to each neighborhood’s customers. The Coex store focuses on “office wellness,” targeting workers seeking convenient ways to maintain healthy habits during busy schedules. Healthy snacks and protein products occupy the front of the store, helping shoppers quickly find items suited to their needs. A Daily Routine Bar offers products for individual purchase, allowing customers to try wellness items during commutes or lunch breaks. The Seongsu store, which opened Friday, is the chain’s largest and emphasizes experiences for trend-conscious shoppers and foreign tourists. It includes Better Bar, a food and beve

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KB Kookmin Bank to lead $9.45 bil. AI infrastructure financing

KB Kookmin Bank has secured the lead arranger role in a 12.6 trillion won ($9.45 billion) project to build artificial intelligence (AI) computing infrastructure in Korea, the lender said Sunday. Led by Brookfield, one of the world’s largest alternative asset managers, the project involves acquiring major high-performance computing equipment, including graphics processing units (GPUs), and supplying the infrastructure to Naver Cloud. The deal marks the largest syndicated loan arrangement in Korea’s history. Such loans allow multiple financial institutions to jointly finance a large-scale project. It is also the country’s first GPU financing deal — a departure from conventional project financing, which has typically centered on assets like real estate or power plants. Rather than relying on immediate returns, the structure uses anticipated long-term revenue from supplying AI computing capacity to support the project's substantial upfront investment needs. Of the 12.6 trillion won in total costs, roughly 10.7 trillion won will be raised through loans. As lead arranger, KB Kookmin Ba

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Relatives from family separated by Korean War meet for 1st time in 3rd country

Two relatives from a family separated by the 1950-53 Korean War met for the first time in a third country in September, marking a rare reunion amid frozen inter-Korean relations. Tensions remain high on the divided Korean Peninsula as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has ruled out talks with South Korea and defined inter-Korean ties as those between "two states hostile to each other." The meeting came five months after South Korea's Unification Ministry received a request from a North Korean member of a separated family seeking help to find a maternal uncle in South Korea. The request was relayed to the ministry by a North Korean defector living in the South. The ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, located the uncle in its database of separated families, only to learn that he had died 30 years earlier. After trying to contact the uncle's adult children using information in the database, a ministry official made contact with a 65-year-old cousin living in Gyeonggi Province near Seoul. The South Korean cousin readily agreed to contact the North Korean relative, saying the cousin's

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Korea's monthly exports hit $115.3 bil. in Oct. on strong chip sales

South Korea's exports jumped 93.7 percent to a record $115.3 billion in October from a year earlier, driven largely by a sharp increase in semiconductor shipments, data showed Sunday. Strong global demand for semiconductors, coupled with continued investments by major technology companies in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, boosted overall exports, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources said in a press release. Imports rose 36 percent from a year earlier to $72.78 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $42.5 billion. Cumulative exports for the January-October period exceeded $900 billion for the first time, with the ministry projecting that the country's annual exports could reach $1 trillion as early as November if the current trend continues. By sector, semiconductor exports, a key pillar of Asia's fourth-largest economy, skyrocketed 259 percent from a year earlier to $56.4 billion in October, the release said. Exports of petroleum products jumped 80 percent to $6.92 billion, while those of petrochemical products rose 27.5 percent to $4 billion. Cosmetics exports sho

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Love hotteok? Here's how the sugary, oil-fried snack can affect your diet

Click here for more articles by Kormedi.com. Comedian Shin Bong-sun, who has drawn attention for her slimmer figure, turned down even a tempting snack to stay on track with her diet. Shin recently posted a photo of a black plastic bag on social media, writing, “Hotteok my older sister bought me from Namdaemun. I won't eat it.” She also shared a full-body photo taken at a gym, saying she was playing tennis and attending a personal training session. Shin previously revealed that she had lost 11 kilograms in just 100 days. She has since continued to exercise regularly and manage her diet. Hotteok: A calorie bomb with sugar and oil Hotteok is a snack made by filling wheat flour dough with a sweet filling and cooking it in oil. The carbohydrates in the dough, combined with sugar and oil, make the snack high in calories. Its calorie content varies depending on its size, filling ingredients and the amount of oil used during cooking. According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety's food nutrition database, hotteok containing nuts has 314 kilocalories per 100 grams. Eating a 150-gram hotteok

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From 'Lake of Death' to Clavius, Korea searches moon for 2032 landing sites

Korea is shopping for real estate on the moon, and its newly established space agency has its eye on some of the lunar surface’s most forbidding neighborhoods. At a recent academic symposium, the Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA) revealed a shortlist of prospective landing sites for two robotic missions scheduled for 2032. The agency is weighing 20 candidate zones for its flagship lunar lander and nine for a precursor soft-landing demonstration craft, signaling a decisive shift toward boots-on-the-surface ambitions for a nation long playing catch-up in deep-space exploration. Rather than sticking strictly to the lunar south pole — a crowded target for NASA’s Artemis program and rival missions seeking water ice — Korean scientists are eyeing a broader, strategically varied grid. The candidate list spans ancient impact basins, jagged basaltic plains, and deep pit craters that could house underground lava tubes. Among the standout targets for the early 2032 verification probe is Lacus Mortis, or the "Lake of Death," a pitted plain that scientists suspect holds collapsed lava tub

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Editor's Pick

[WEEKENDER] Beyond Korea: Foreign entrepreneurs turn Korean culture into business opportunities

WEEKENDER Beyond Korea: Foreign entrepreneurs turn Korean culture into business opportunities

The global popularity of Korean culture continues to grow, with K-pop, dramas, food and beauty products reaching audiences around the world. For some foreign nationals, that appeal goes beyond consumption. An increasing number of foreign entrepreneurs are turning their interest in Korean culture into business opportunities, finding new ways to bring the country's cultural assets to global markets. Yet starting a business in a foreign country comes with challenges, from unfamiliar administrative systems to differences in business culture. The Korea Times spoke with foreign entrepreneurs behind two businesses seeking to bring Korean culture to global markets, exploring the opportunities and challenges they have encountered along the way. Bringing K-dramas to European audiences French nationals Christophe Diez and Jeanne Dubresson are working to connect Korean content producers with overseas viewers through the streaming app Kyool. Diez's interest in Korea began in 2015, when he came across a Korean romantic comedy series while developing new stories. The project led him to explore Korean cul

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Life in Korea

Seoul unveils 110 autumn foliage trails spanning 167 kilometers

Seoul unveils 110 autumn foliage trails spanning 167 kilometers

Seoul is turning its streets, riversides and parks into an open-air autumn gallery, with the city government selecting 110 foliage trails stretching a combined 167 kilometers for residents and visitors seeking fall colors without leaving the capital. The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Friday that its 2026 selection features tree-lined streets, riverside paths, public parks and walking trails, with peak foliage expected from late October through early to mid-November. The routes feature a variety of trees, including ginkgo, zelkova, Yoshino cherry and metasequoia, offering different landscapes across the city. The government divided the 110 routes into four categories: 20 urban walking routes, 19 riverside trails, 28 park routes and 43 walking paths. Among the highlighted destinations are Samcheong-dong Street, Deoksu Palace Road and Itaewon-ro, while visitors seeking waterside scenery can follow trails along Jungnang Stream and Ui Stream. Seoul Forest and Haneul Park are among the recommended parks, while Walkerhill-ro and Hangeulbiseok-gil are highlighted for their walking route

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Lifestyle

Think flipping meat twice makes it juicier? Korean pork expert says the opposite

"Is it really true that meat tastes better if you flip it exactly twice? That might work for very thinly sliced pork belly. But with meat of ordinary thickness, juices move in the direction the heat is applied. If you want to keep the juices toward the center and make the meat moist, it's better to flip it frequently." Cha Ho-myung, a former chef with 26 years of experience who now leads the Meat&Food Food Solution Team at Sunjin Technology Research Institute, challenged a widely held belief about grilling meat as he taught the science behind cooking pork at Yaksan Dwaeji, a restaurant in Yeongdeungpo District, Seoul, on Oct. 14. The lesson was part of the practical training for "Grilling Meister," a private certification program introduced in 2021 by Sunjin, the agricultural and food company behind Sunjin Pork, Korea's first branded pork product. Candidates first take an online written test covering pork production, processing and nutrition. Then comes the centerpiece of the certification process: a practical exam for participants to demonstrate their skill in grilling "samgyeopsal", o

3 MIN READ
Think flipping meat twice makes it juicier? Korean pork expert says the opposite

K-Culture

BOYNEXTDOOR to launch 1st N. American tour

K-pop group BOYNEXTDOOR will kick off its first-ever North American tour Friday (U.S. time) with a show in Dallas, the group's agency, Koz Entertainment, said. Following the Dallas concert, the sextet is scheduled to perform in Florida, Chicago, New York, Toronto, Vancouver, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Mexico City through Nov. 24. "Every visit to the United States has given us meaningful memories and positive inspiration, so we are excited for this trip too," the group said in a release. "We will perform with passion and return with happy memories. We hope audiences look forward to our explosive energy and chemistry with them." The North American dates are part of BOYNEXTDOOR's first-ever world tour, titled "Knock on Vol. 2," which began in Seoul in July and continued across Japan. Following the North American leg, the group is set to perform in six other Asian regions into January 2027.

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BOYNEXTDOOR to launch 1st N. American tour

Celebrities

Former BIGBANG members make headlines with love lives: T.O.P goes public, Seungri married with baby on the way

Two former BIGBANG members are drawing attention for dramatically different updates in their personal lives, with T.O.P going public with his relationship with singer-actress Nana and Seungri revealed to be legally married with a baby on the way. Ilgan Sports reported Wednesday that Seungri has registered his marriage with his pregnant wife, making them legally married. His wife is reportedly due to give birth in January. News of the pregnancy emerged before details of the marriage became public, prompting speculation that the couple had conceived before marriage. Seungri denied the speculation through the outlet and said the couple currently has no plans to hold a wedding ceremony. "As I am now responsible for a family, I feel an even greater sense of responsibility," Seungri said. "I deeply reflect on the disappointment and hurt I caused through my past wrongdoing, and I will show that I have changed by living a quiet and sincere life." "I would be grateful if people would watch over my life warmly going forward," he said. "At the same time, my family members are not public figures, so

2 MIN READ
Former BIGBANG members make headlines with love lives: T.O.P goes public, Seungri married with baby on the way

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Opinion

Top 10 Stories

  1. Up to 125,000 gather in Seoul's Hongdae area on Halloween; 30,000 in Itaewon: data

  2. Trump open to talks with N. Korean leader but no meeting scheduled: Rubio

  3. Trump says US will talk to N. Korea if it is behind Binance hack

  4. N. Korea tests cluster bomb mountable on tactical ballistic missiles

  5. From 'Lake of Death' to Clavius, Korea searches moon for 2032 landing sites

  6. Interview Expanding horizon of Korean language education in US

  7. Love hotteok? Here's how the sugary, oil-fried snack can affect your diet

  8. Korea's monthly exports hit $115.3 bil. in Oct. on strong chip sales

  9. Overseas trips add to debate over Korea's shifting political standards

  10. Hanwha bags 1st US Navy shipbuilding order

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