Global Affairs Lab

Standing on a vast development site in Clarksville, Tennessee, South Korea’s Korea Zinc is making one of the boldest industrial bets yet on the future of America’s critical minerals supply chain. The company has entered a strategic partnership with the U.S. government to jointly invest in a large-scale smelter project valued at approximately 11 trillion won. Of that, around $6.6 billion will be invested directly into the Tennessee facility, while total funding—including opera

WASHINGTON — What began as a festive White House gathering quickly turned into a moment of personal announcements for several prominent figures in former President Donald Trump’s political orbit, as engagement news rippled through the crowd and lit up conservative social media. Donald Trump Jr., the former president’s eldest son, confirmed his engagement during the event, marking the third such milestone in his personal life. Trump Jr. married his first wife, Vanessa Trump, i

WASHINGTON — Standing beneath the bright lights of the White House on the evening of the 17th, U.S. President Donald Trump delivered an 18-minute nationally televised address aimed squarely at American voters uneasy about the economy. With midterm elections looming next year and inflation still weighing on household budgets, Trump cast himself as the architect of a dramatic turnaround — and his predecessor as the source of the nation’s troubles. “I inherited a country in chao

The passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for the next fiscal year by the U.S. Congress on Dec. 17, which includes provisions limiting any reduction in U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), is widely seen as an effort to underscore Washington’s view of South Korea as a top-tier ally. Once formally enacted with President Donald Trump’s signature, the NDAA will prohibit the U.S. government from using congressionally approved defense funds to reduce the number of U.S. tro

SEOUL - Standing before a room of future military leaders at the National Defense University last week, the commander of U.S. Forces Korea delivered a message that was as blunt as it was revealing: the Korean Peninsula is no longer a peripheral theater in American strategy—it is a strategic starting point. Gen. Xavier Brunson, who leads U.S. and allied forces on the peninsula, used the lecture to argue that Korea sits at the very heart of Washington’s Indo-Pacific security ar

Korea Zinc, the world’s largest zinc smelting company, has announced plans to build a large-scale metals and minerals production facility in the United States, marking a strategic effort by South Korea and the U.S. to secure critical mineral supply chains independent of China. The project, valued at approximately $7.43 billion, will be developed as a joint venture involving Korea Zinc, the U.S. government, and U.S. strategic investors. According to a regulatory filing, constr

NEW YORK — On a gray weekday morning outside a federal loan servicing office in downtown Manhattan, recent graduates shuffled past with envelopes in hand, many of them unopened. “I already know what it says,” said 26-year-old Emily Rodriguez, who finished college two years ago and has yet to make her first student loan payment. “I don’t have the money.” Scenes like this are becoming increasingly common across the United States as student loan delinquencies spike following the

A Hong Kong court on Monday found jailed media tycoon Jimmy Lai guilty under the city’s sweeping national security law, a verdict that could see the outspoken critic of Beijing spend the rest of his life behind bars. Lai, 78, the founder of the now-shuttered Apple Daily, has been held for more than 1,800 days despite sustained international pressure for his release. The High Court said sentencing will be announced as soon as possible, with final arguments expected in January.

As the year-end shopping season unfolds, American consumers are zeroing in on essentials—from home appliances to basic household goods—while pulling back on discretionary spending. Although headline inflation has cooled compared with earlier this year, many households say the economic squeeze still feels intense, reshaping how and where they spend. Shoppers are spending more time hunting for discounts, comparing rock-bottom prices, and scaling back both the size and scope of

Russian and Chinese bombers conducted a joint patrol Tuesday, flying over the East China Sea and Western Pacific, prompting Seoul and Tokyo to scramble fighter aircraft to monitor the flights. At approximately 10:00 a.m. local time, seven Russian military aircraft and two Chinese military aircraft entered the Korean Air Defense Identification Zone (KADIZ) over the Sea of Japan, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the same day in a news release . No airspace violation occ

North Korea’s decision to dispatch troops to Russia’s war in Ukraine was designed to serve multiple strategic purposes: to demonstrate loyalty to Moscow, to extract hard currency and advanced military technology, and to reinforce Kim Jong-un’s narrative of North Korea as a consequential military actor beyond the Korean Peninsula. Yet mounting evidence suggests that this gamble is unraveling—and with consequences far more destabilizing than Pyongyang appears to have anticipate

“Bravo! Madame Sumi!” Inside the Opéra-Comique in Paris, under the applause of French dignitaries, South Korean soprano Sumi Jo (61), elegantly dressed in a hanbok, slowly stepped onto the stage. Awaiting her was the Commandeur rank—the highest grade of France’s Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, awarded for significant contributions in the fields of arts and culture. On May 26, Sumi Jo will officially receive the honor—a rare distinction for a Korean national. The medal is expec

1. A Flame That Sparked a Wave of Change In December 2010, in the small town of Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia, 26-year-old Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire after repeated harassment by corrupt officials and an oppressive government. His tragic act was not simply a personal despair—it came to represent the cry of a generation of young people across the Middle East and North Africa who had lived under authoritarian rule for decades. But the flame he lit didn’t stop at the streets. I

Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party has introduced a bill aimed at restricting the activities of independent media outlets and NGOs that receive foreign funding. The proposed legislation would impose heavy fines on these organizations, ban them from receiving donations, and potentially prohibit their operations altogether. While the government has named the bill the “Law on the Transparency of Public Life,” critics argue it is effectively a crackdown on progressive, independent med