South Korean stock investors' deposits at securities firms have plunged, according to industry data Saturday, amid prolonged volatility in the stock market. The amount of investor deposits came to 88.6 trillion won ($66.8 billion) as of Thursday, marking the lowest amount since Jan. 13, when they stood at 88.04 trillion won, according to the data from the Korea Financial Investment Association. Compared with June 4, when they stood at 139.6 trillion won, investor deposits dipped by 51 trillion won, the data showed. The nation's benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) hit the 9,000-point milestone in June but has seen sharp swings and high volatility since July. The KOSPI gained 0.3 percent to end at 5,550.30 on Friday.

Wage negotiations between POSCO Co. and its unionized workers have collapsed, the steelmaker's union said Saturday, warning it would go on an indefinite strike from early next month. POSCO and the union had been in negotiations over wages, but the two sides came unstuck over wage increases and other issues. The union said it will begin an indefinite strike from 7 p.m. on Nov. 2. The union had demanded a 7.1 percent increase in basic salary and a bonus worth 600 percent of basic salary. However, POSCO had offered a 2.5 percent increase in basic pay and a one-off payment of five million won ($3,770). Last month, unionized workers at POSCO held two rounds of partial strike after failing to narrow differences in wage negotiations.

The Samsung Lions will send their American right-hander Chris Paddack to begin their Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason Sunday. The Lions on Saturday announced Paddack as their starter for Game 1 of the best-of-five second round against the Kia Tigers. First pitch is 2 p.m. Sunday at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in the southeastern city of Daegu. The Tigers said they will counter with their American ace James Naile. The winner of this round will reach the Korean Series, where the regular-season champions KT Wiz are waiting. The Lions had a bye to this stage after posting the second-best record in the regular season at 83-58-3 (wins-losses-ties). The Tigers, after finishing third at 79-63-2, had a bye to the first round, where they swept the 2025 Korean Series champions LG Twins. On the 35 previous occasions when this round was played in a best-of-five format, Game 1 winners have gone on to take the series 27 times, or about 77 percent of the time. Paddack went 7-3 with a 2.95 ERA in 13 starts after joining the Lions in July. He had a worse ERA against the Tigers than any other oppone

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has called for the regime's military to build the "strongest army" as he addressed a meeting of commanders in Pyongyang, the North's state media reported Saturday. Kim made the remarks as he supervised a meeting of company commanders on Oct. 22 and 23 in the North's capital, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Kim told the commanders that "the main spirit of the Third Meeting of Company Leaders of the Korean People's Army is to build the strongest army and accelerate the Korean-style military revolution by training the strongest companies," the KCNA reported. Kim also instructed company commanders to "firmly carry forward the true nature of our army as the army of the Party and the army of ideology and core elements." The meeting was the first gathering of the North's entire army after Pyongyang's Ninth Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea, the KCNA reported.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army has activated an air defense battalion in Guam to bolster the island's defenses against regional missile threats, including those posed by North Korea and China, a U.S. military news outlet reported Friday. The 3rd Battalion, 43rd Air Defense Artillery Regiment, held an activation ceremony on Oct. 16 at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam and will assume the air defense responsibilities previously carried out by Task Force Talon, according to USNI News. Task Force Talon began its rotational mission in 2013 to counter potential North Korean ballistic missile threats, but its responsibilities have since expanded amid China's growing missile capabilities, the report said. The newly activated battalion is expected to operate Patriot, Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) and Intermediate Fires Protection Capability (IFPC) systems as part of a layered defense network against ballistic and cruise missiles, aircraft and drones. "Guam's strategic location makes it an important part of U.S. military operations throughout the region by supporting joint force operatio

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday told a rally for candidates in South Florida that U.S. warships returning from the Middle East could stop over in Cuba on their way back from the Iran war, his latest suggestion of taking an interventionist approach to the nearby country. Trump first floated this idea earlier this year, but has not mentioned it in recent months. But he revived it in response to a shouted question from the crowd about the island nation. He was campaigning just days ahead of midterm elections in which voters have expressed concern about the impact the U.S. war on Iran has had on prices of goods from gas to groceries. “We’ll do a little stopover,” Trump said. “Actually, what we’re going to do with Cuba is, we’re going to come back from Iran. Those beautiful ships will pass Cuba. We’ll have one of them stop about 50 yards off the coast. They’ll raise up their hands. And then we’re going to send (Secretary of State) Marco Rubio in to finish up the deal.” Both Rubio and Trump have been bullish on action in Cuba, with Trump previous

WASHINGTON — First lady Melania Trump has brokered a coming ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine in the ravaged, Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Oleshky to allow for humanitarian aid and the evacuation of civilians, the White House announced on Friday. The localized ceasefire is set to begin Thursday, with the American first lady saying in a written statement that the situation there is “on the brink of disaster.” The White House said Melania Trump had initiated discussions after learning about the situation during an event she held during the U.N. General Assembly session last month. It said she and a representative worked directly with Russian and Ukrainian leadership to define the terms of the ceasefire. Ukraine’s lead negotiator for the agreement thanked Melania Trump for her involvement and said the deal would be tough to accomplish. Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman, said the agreement calls for a ceasefire, followed by the delivery of much-needed humanitarian aid. Lastly, civilians will be allowed to leave Oleshky, he said in a video message posted onl

WASHINGTON — A senior United Nations official expressed gratitude to South Korea on Friday for donating eight military helicopters to Kenya to support U.N. peacekeeping operations. Jean-Pierre Lacroix, U.N. under-secretary-general for peace operations, made the remarks in a post on X following a ceremony marking the handover of eight refurbished MD 500 Defender helicopters to Kenya. "Grateful to the Republic of Korea for donating eight helicopters to enhance U.N. Peacekeeping's air mobility," Lacroix wrote. "Refurbished with U.S. support, they were handed over to Kenya," he added, describing the donation as a "concrete example" of how U.N. member states invest in peace. South Korea pledged to provide choppers to U.N. peacekeeping operations across Africa during the U.N. peacekeeping ministerial meeting held in Seoul in 2021. The United States vowed to conduct maintenance work on the helicopters and help transport them to the East African country. The decommissioned helicopters underwent repairs and refurbishment in the U.S. for approximately two years before arriving in Kenya last mont

WASHINGTON — First lady Melania Trump has brokered an upcoming ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine in the war-ravaged Ukrainian city of Oleshky to allow for humanitarian aid and the evacuation of civilians, the White House announced on Friday. The localized ceasefire is set to begin Thursday, with the American first lady saying in a news release that the situation there is “on the brink of disaster.” The White House said Melania Trump had initiated the discussions and that she and a representative worked directly with Russian and Ukrainian leadership to define the terms of the ceasefire. Ukraine’s lead negotiator for the agreement thanked Melania Trump for her involvement and said the deal would be “extremely challenging to implement.” “Under our agreement: first a ceasefire will be put in place; second, humanitarian aid will be delivered to Oleshky; and third, civilians will be allowed to move freely out of Oleshky,” Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman, said in a video message posted online. “The operation will be carried out gradually and is extremely

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Treasury Department has proposed expanding restrictions on American investments in sensitive technologies to include North Korea and several other countries, as Washington seeks to prevent adversaries from using U.S. capital to develop advanced military capabilities. The proposed regulations, detailed in a notice scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on Thursday, would expand the existing Outbound Investment Security Program, which currently covers China, including Hong Kong and Macau, to include North Korea, Russia, Iran and Cuba, according to the Treasury Department. The proposal seeks to implement the Comprehensive Outbound Investment National Security Act, enacted in December last year as part of the fiscal 2026 National Defense Authorization Act. Under the proposal, certain investments by U.S. persons involving covered foreign entities engaged in specified sensitive technologies would be prohibited, while other transactions would be subject to notification requirements. The regulations would cover specified activities in key technology sectors, in

NAIROBI, Kenya — Many people were feared trapped as a tall building collapsed Friday in Kenya’s capital, leaving a huge mound of concrete and more than a dozen floors stacked like pancakes, with little space between them. The building was under construction when it collapsed at about 1 p.m. along a busy commercial street in Nairobi's Eastleigh area, which is often crowded with thousands of traders and residents. Nairobi police chief Issa Mohamud said the building had more than 10 upper floors under construction. Rescue operations were complicated, with police firing tear gas at people who had begun looting neighboring shops, as officers sought to clear the area and provide access to emergency response teams. Joseph Kaula made it out just in time. A plasterer working on the fifth floor, he said he heard screams and spotted other workers rushing outside, shouting that the building was collapsing. “I was the last person to walk out before it collapsed and the whole area was filled with dust,” Kaula said. Kaula suspects a few of his colleagues were trapped in the basement. One injured

NEW YORK — Stocks slipped on Wall Street Friday under increasing pressure from rising oil prices. The S&P 500 fell 0.2 percent, adding to its decline from a day before. The index is on track for a second-straight week of losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 541 points, or 1 percent, as of 11:12 a.m. Eastern time. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.2 percent, bolstered by gains for several big tech stocks that also helped ease losses elsewhere. Rising oil prices weighed heavily on the broader market, where three out of every four stocks within the benchmark S&P 500 index fell. The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil rose 2.4 percent to $115.86. It has surged from less than $97 at the start of October and is now at its highest level since March. Several AI-related companies made big moves. Micron Technology jumped 3.4 percent and Microsoft rose 0.8 percent and helped ease the impact on major indexes from a broad drop for most stocks. Even a relatively small 0.3 percent gain from Nvidia went a long way to help offset losses elsewhere in the market. The tech sector's influence is also c

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will make an official visit to South Korea next week for a summit with President Lee Jae Myung, Lee's office said Friday. Merz is scheduled to visit Seoul next Thursday and Friday, marking his first visit to South Korea since taking office and the first bilateral visit by a German chancellor to the country in three years, presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said in a written briefing. Lee and Merz are scheduled to hold a summit Thursday, followed by a joint press statement and an official dinner, she added. The summit will come about four months after their previous meeting on the sidelines of the Group of Seven (G7) summit in France in June. It will be their third meeting since Merz took office, Kang said. Merz will also attend the 19th Asia-Pacific Conference of German Business in Seoul. During the upcoming talks, the leaders will hold in-depth discussions on economic cooperation; future industries, such as batteries, semiconductors and artificial intelligence (AI); defense and the arms industry, as well as regional and international issues. "Germany i

South Korea has donated eight decommissioned military helicopters to Kenya after an overhaul, delivering on its pledge to support the U.N. peacekeeping missions in the region, officials said Friday. A ceremony marking the donation of the eight MD 500 Defenders was held at the Kenya Army Corps of Aviation in Nairobi on Friday (local time), according to the defense ministry. The move comes as South Korea pledged to provide choppers to the U.N. peacekeeping operations across Africa during the U.N. peacekeeping ministerial meeting held in Seoul in 2021. The United States vowed to conduct maintenance work on the helicopters and help transport them to the East African country. Since late 2023, eight MD 500 Defenders have been transported to the U.S., where they underwent maintenance and repair work for about two years. The upgraded choppers arrived in Kenya last month, pending deployment after successfully completing all flight tests, according to officials. The defense ministry plans to continue to expand its contributions to U.N. peacekeeping missions. Friday's event was attended by some 200 p

The spy agency on Friday reported to a parliamentary committee that recent unverified rumors circulating social media claiming North Korean leader Kim Jong-un might have died are false, sources said. The National Intelligence Service (NIS) delivered the assessment during a closed-door meeting with ruling and opposition lawmakers on the National Assembly's Intelligence Committee, according to sources who attended the meeting. The rumors, which claimed Kim had suffered a severe brain hemorrhage, fallen into a coma and died, have spread widely on overseas social media and been picked up by several foreign media outlets earlier this week. No evidence has been provided to substantiate the claims. North Korean state media have not directly addressed the speculation but reported Tuesday that Kim visited a garment and footwear exhibition in Pyongyang a day earlier. Photos released by the state media showed him touring the exhibition with his daughter Ju-ae. During the briefing to the committee late last month, the NIS said Kim, who weighs more than 140 kilograms, was at high risk of cardiovascul

After grabbing the lead at the halfway mark of the LPGA Tour event on her home soil Friday, Ryu Hae-ran said she was pleased with the state of her game entering the weekend. Ryu carded a bogey-free round of 64 in the second round at the BMW Ladies Championship at Pine Beach Golf Links in Haenam, some 330 kilometers south of Seoul. She is at 13-under 131, two better than fellow South Korean Kim Min-sun and American veteran Lauren Coughlin. Ryu made two eagles on the front nine and four birdies on the back nine. Over the first two rounds, Ryu has not yet made a bogey. She has been dialed in with her shotmaking, having missed just two fairways and one green this week. "Today was an amazing day. I really worried about the wind, but today's wind was much better than yesterday," Ryu said. "That is why I hit a lot of greens today. Everything is good for me. I am happy right now." Her putting, though, has been a different story, as she needed 32 putts to get around each of the first two rounds. For the season, Ryu ranks among the best on the tour in advanced and conventional ball-striking stats b

Bank of Korea (BOK) Gov. Shin Hyun-song said Friday the central bank will adjust its monetary policy to a future environment of higher economic growth and interest rates, signaling it will maintain a hawkish stance for some time. In response to a question from Rep. Kim Tae-nyeon of the ruling Democratic Party during a parliamentary audit at the National Assembly, Shin agreed with the assessment that a return to the era of ultra-low interest rates would be difficult. "We will implement policies effectively in preparation for the prospect of a future environment characterized by high growth and high interest rates," he said. The central bank has adopted a more hawkish stance in recent months amid rising inflation and solid economic growth. It raised the benchmark interest rate to 3 percent in July and August, marking the first back-to-back rate hikes since January 2023. The January 2023 hike was the seventh consecutive increase in a tightening cycle that began in April 2022. Over the 3 1/2-year period, the rate was gradually lowered to 2.5 percent from 3.5 percent before the latest round of

Canadian pop star Justin Bieber made an unannounced visit to Korea on Friday, marking his first trip to the country in about 13 years. Bieber shared his arrival on social media with the caption, "Made it to Seoul," alongside a photo taken while traveling through the Korean capital. He arrived at Incheon International Airport, located just west of Seoul, with his wife, model Hailey Bieber, in the early hours of Friday, according to local media reports. The 32-year-old singer last performed in Korea in 2013, though he made a virtual appearance at the Weverse Con Festival, a music festival hosted by K-pop powerhouse Hybe, in late 2021. While the exact purpose of Bieber's trip was not immediately disclosed, his visit coincides with a Seoul pop-up store for Skylrk, the fashion and lifestyle brand he co-founded. He later posted photos of himself at the store on social media, fueling speculation that his trip was tied to the event. The store opened Thursday in the trendy Seongsu neighborhood and runs through Sunday.

Ryu Hae-ran soared to the top of the leaderboard at the LPGA Tour event in her native Korea on Friday. Ryu fired a blistering round of eight-under 64 to seize the 36-hole lead at the BMW Ladies Championship at Pine Beach Golf Links in Haenam, some 330 kilometers south of Seoul. Ryu, the highest-ranked player in the field this week at No. 3, has yet to make a bogey in this tournament. On Friday, Ryu recorded two eagles on the front nine and added four birdies on the back nine for her second consecutive bogey-free round. Ryu, who hit every green in regulation and missed just one fairway Friday, holds a two-shot lead over two players — Kim Min-sun of Korea and Lauren Coughlin of the United States — at 13-under 131. Ryu, 25, is from the nearby town of Yeongam. Her two LPGA wins this season have both come at major championships — first at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship and then at the Amundi Evian Championship. Ryu is now trying to join world No. 1 Nelly Korda and second-ranked Jeeno Thitikul as the only players to notch at least three victories in 2026. Ryu eagled the first two par-5

The Army's Ground Operations Command (GOC) has conducted an annual counterfire field training exercise (FTX) to enhance its readiness for wartime operations, the armed service said Friday. The drills were conducted from Monday through Friday, involving some 4,100 troops affiliated with the Combined Ground Component Command (CGCC), according to the Army. The GOC also serves as the ground component command of the Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC), which was transitioned into a standing unit earlier this year. During the drills, which were held in tandem with the annual Hoguk exercise, troops trained under a simulated all-out war scenario on the Korean Peninsula. The CGCC task force, comprising intelligence and artillery units, attempted to occupy positions and detect and strike targets using their combined assets. A range of joint surveillance and strike assets, including the allies' unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), counter-battery radars, the Korean Tactical Surface-to-Surface Missile (KTSSM) and K9 self-propelled howitzer, were mobilized for the drills. The troops also practiced res