HYUNG-JIN KIM

Reporter

Hyung-jin is an Associated Press reporter in Seoul, South Korea. He reports on security, political and other general news on the Korean Peninsula.

A TV screen shows a file image of North Korea's missile launch during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, March 18, 2024. North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles toward its eastern waters Monday morning, its neighbors said, days after the end of the South Korean-U.S. military drills that the North views as an invasion rehearsal. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

North Korea resumes missile tests, raising tensions with its rivals after their military drills’ end

North Korea has fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles toward its eastern waters, days after the end of the South Korean-U.S. military drills that the North views as an invasion rehearsal.

Los Angeles Dodgers' designated hitter Shohei Ohtani prepares to bat in the first inning of the exhibition game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Kiwoom Heroes at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, March 17, 2024. The Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres will meet in a two-game series on March 20th-21st in Seoul for the MLB World Tour Seoul Series. (AP Photo/)

Ohtani may be South Korea’s most-beloved Japanese athlete. His charm is winning over historic rivals

Shohei Ohtani may be the most-beloved Japanese athlete in South Korea, a historic rival of his home country.

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani reacts during a news conference ahead of a baseball workout at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday, March 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

New Dodger Ohtani says Seoul MLB games will be ‘great memories’ for him and wife

Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani says the upcoming Major League Baseball season opener with the San Diego Padres in Seoul will provide “great memories” for him and his wife.

FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un shake hands during their meeting at the Vostochny cosmodrome outside the city of Tsiolkovsky, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) from the city of Blagoveshchensk in the far eastern Amur region, Russia, Sept. 13, 2023. Kim used a Russian luxury limousine gifted by Putin recently, Kim’s sister said Saturday, March 16, 2024, praising the car’s “special function” and the two countries' deepening bilateral ties. (Vladimir Smirnov/Sputnik Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)

North Korea’s Kim enjoys a Russian luxury limousine gifted by Putin as the two nations expand ties

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s new ride is a Russian luxury limousine gifted by President Vladimir Putin.

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani and his wife Mamiko Tanaka walk with security during the baseball team's arrival at Incheon International Airport, Friday, March 15, 2024, in Incheon, South Korea, ahead of the team's baseball series against the San Diego Padres. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Baseball superstar Ohtani and his wife arrive in South Korea for Dodgers-Padres MLB opener

Shohei Ohtani and his wife have arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates ahead of their season-opening Major League Baseball games against the San Diego Padres next week.

In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un drives a new-type tank in North Korea Wednesday, March 13, 2024. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

North Korea’s Kim test drives a new tank and orders troops to prepare for war

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un joined troops training on a new model of tank and drove one himself, as his rivals South Korea and the U.S. wrapped up their annual military exercises, state media reported Thursday.

South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lim Soo-suk speaks during a briefing on a South Korean citizen arrested in Russia at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, March 12, 2024. A South Korean citizen arrested in Russia earlier this year on suspicion of spying is to remain in custody until mid-June, Russia's state news agency Tass said Monday. (Hwang Gwang-mo/Yonhap via AP)

South Korean held in Russia on espionage allegation is missionary helping the needy, his group says

A South Korean Christian aid group says that a South Korean national held in Russia on an espionage allegation is one of its missionaries dispatched there to support the needy and spread the gospel.

Medical workers walk inside a general hospital in Incheon, South Korea, Monday, March 11, 2024. South Korea's government expressed deep regret over the news that some senior doctors could join the protracted walkouts by thousands of junior doctors, saying Tuesday, March 12, the people won’t understand another collective action that threatens the lives of patients.(Lim Soon-seok/Yonhap via AP)

South Korea criticizes senior doctors for threatening to resign to support their juniors’ walkouts

South Korea’s government criticized senior doctors at a major hospital for threatening to resign in support of the weekslong walkouts by thousands of medical interns and residents that have disrupted hospital operations.

In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, supervises artillery firing drills in North Korea Thursday, March 7, 2024. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

North Korea conducts artillery firing drills in likely response to South Korea-US military training

North Korea says leader Kim Jong Un has supervised artillery firing drills aimed at boosting combat readiness posture.

In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, visits a western operational training base in North Korea Wednesday, March 6, 2024. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

North Korea’s Kim calls for stronger war fighting capabilities against the US and South Korea

North Korea says leader Kim Jong Un has called for greater war fighting capabilities against the United States and South Korea.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during a cabinet meeting at the government complex in Sejong, South Korea, Wednesday, March 6, 2024. The prolonged walkouts by junior doctors won't be tolerated, South Korea’s president said Wednesday, calling them "an illegal collective action" that threatens public health and shakes the country’s governing systems. (Jin Sung-chul/Yonhap via AP)

South Korea’s president vows not to tolerate walkouts by junior doctors

South Korea’s president vows that he won’t tolerate the prolonged walkouts by junior doctors, calling them “an illegal collective action” that threatens public health.

Doctors stage a rally against the government's medical policy in Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, March 3, 2024. South Korean officials said Tuesday they are seeking to get the leaders of thousands of striking junior doctors to face police investigations as part of legal repercussions for their walkouts that have disrupted hospital operations. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Thousands of Korean doctors face license suspensions as Seoul moves to prosecute strike leaders

Thousands of striking junior doctors in South Korea are facing proceedings to suspend their medical licenses.

U.S. Army Apache helicopters take off at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, Monday, March 4, 2024. North Korea called the ongoing South Korean-U.S. military drills a plot to invade the country, as it threatened Tuesday to take unspecified "responsible" military steps in response. (Kwon June-woo/Yonhap via AP)

North Korea threatens to take military moves in response to US-South Korean drills

North Korea has called the ongoing South Korean-U.S. military drills a plot to invade the country, as it threatens to take unspecified “responsible” military steps in response.

A lecture room is seen at a medical school in Daegu, South Korea, Monday, March 4, 2024. South Korea’s government is pressing ahead with its vow to suspend the licenses of thousands of junior doctors who ignore its repeated demands to end their collective walkouts. (Yun Kwan-shik/Yonhap via AP)

What’s next for South Korean doctors who face license suspensions because of walkouts

South Korea’s government is pressing ahead with its vow to suspend the licenses of thousands of junior doctors who ignore its repeated demands to end their collective walkouts.

Doctors stage a rally against the government's medical policy in Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, March 3, 2024. Thousands of senior doctors rallied in Seoul on Sunday to express their support for junior doctors who have been on strike for nearly two weeks over a government plan to sharply increase the number of medical school admissions. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

South Korea takes steps to suspend licenses of striking doctors after they refuse to end walkouts

South Korea’s government has begun steps to suspend the medical licenses of thousands of striking junior doctors, days after they missed a government-set deadline to end their joint walkouts, which have disrupted hospital operations.

FILE - South Korean army soldiers pass by a military guard post at the Imjingak Pavilion in Paju, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, Wednesday, July 19, 2023. South Korea and the United States began large annual military exercises Monday, March 4, 2024, to bolster their readiness against North Korean nuclear threats after the North raised animosities with an extension of missile tests and belligerent rhetoric earlier this year.(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)

The US and South Korea begin large military drills to boost readiness against North’s threats

South Korea and the United States have begun large military exercises to bolster their readiness against North Korean nuclear threats.

Doctors stage a rally against the government's medical policy in Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, March 3, 2024. Thousands of senior doctors rallied in Seoul on Sunday to express their support for junior doctors who have been on strike for nearly two weeks over a government plan to sharply increase the number of medical school admissions.(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

South Korean doctors hold massive anti-government rally over medical school recruitment plan

Thousands of senior doctors have rallied in the South Korean capital to express their support for junior doctors who have been on strike for nearly two weeks over a government plan to sharply increase the number of medical school admissions.

South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol cheers during a ceremony of the 105th anniversary of the March 1st Independence Movement Day in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, March 1, 2024. (Kim Hong-Ji/Pool Photo via AP)

South Korea’s Yoon calls for unification, on holiday marking 1919 uprising against colonial Japan

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol lambasted North Korea Friday, for what he called its repressive rule and vowed to achieve a free, unified Korean Peninsula.

A medical worker walks to enter Seoul National University Hospital in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024. South Korea’s government made a last appeal to junior doctors to end a walkout, with hours left to go before the Thursday deadline on its threats to suspend medical licenses and prosecute the strikers. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Young South Korean doctors resist back-to-work orders, risking prosecution

South Korea’s government is making a last appeal to junior doctors to end a walkout just hours ahead of a Thursday deadline or risk the suspension of their medical licenses and prosecution.

In this photo provided by LG Electronics, its CEO William Cho, from left, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and LG COO Kwon Bong-seok pose for a photo after their meeting at LG Twin Towers headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024. Zuckerberg discussed cooperation on extended reality (XR) devices with LG Electronics executives on Wednesday, as he visited South Korea for the first time in about 10 years. (LG Electronics via AP)

Zuckerberg meets LG, Samsung chiefs in Seoul as Meta ramps up AI ambitions

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has discussed cooperation on extended reality devices with LG Electronics executives as part of his visit to South Korea that highlights Meta’s ambitions in artificial intelligence.

FILE - U.S. soldiers participate in a joint military drill with South Korea in Paju, South Korea, on March 16, 2023. South Korean and U.S. troops will begin their expanded annual military drills next week in response to North Korea’s evolving nuclear threats, the two countries said Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, a move that will likely enrage North Korea because it views its rivals’ joint training as an invasion rehearsal. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, File)

South Korean and US troops will begin major exercises next week in response to North Korean threats

The South Korean and U.S. militaries will begin large-scale annual military drills next week in response to North Korea’s evolving nuclear threats.

Members of The Korean Public Service and Transport Workers' Union stage a rally to demand expansion of public hospitals and medical students at the Seoul National University Hospital in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Here’s why thousands of junior doctors in South Korea walked off the job

Thousands of junior doctors in South Korea are a week into a labor boycott in protest of the government’s push to recruit more medical students to cope with the country’s fast-aging population.

Doctors march toward the presidential office during a rally against the government's medical policy in Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024. The South Korean government on Wednesday warned thousands of striking doctors to return to work immediately or face legal action after their collective walkouts caused cancellations of surgeries and disrupted other hospital operations. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Seoul gives young doctors 4 days to end walkouts, threatening suspended licenses and prosecutions

The South Korean government is giving young doctors on strike four days to return to work. It says they won’t be punished if they return by Thursday, but warns they will face indictments and suspensions of their medical licenses if they don’t meet the deadline.

In this photo provided by the South Korea Defense Ministry, a South Korean Air Force F-15K fighter jet takes off from a South Korean Air Force base in Cheongju, South Korea, Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. South Korea and the United States flew advanced stealth fighters in a joint missile-interception drill Friday over the Korean Peninsula, South Korea's air force said, an apparent response to a spate of weapons tests this year by rival North Korea. (South Korea Defense Ministry via AP)

US and South Korea fly warplanes in interception drills after North Korea’s missile tests

South Korea and the United States have mobilized advanced stealth fighters as their militaries staged a joint drill over the Korean Peninsula.

South Korean Interior and Safety Minister Lee Sang-min, center, speaks during a joint government briefing at the government complex in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024. South Korea on Wednesday officially ordered thousands of striking doctors to return to work immediately, a step that could lead to legal punishments if the doctors don't end their walkouts, which have caused numerous cancellations of surgeries and other treatments at hospitals. (Kim Do-hoon/Yonhap via AP)

South Korean government warns striking doctors to return to work or face legal action

The South Korean government has warned thousands of striking doctors to return to work immediately or face legal action after their collective walkouts caused cancellations of surgeries and disrupted other hospital operations.

Wheelchairs are placed at Seoul National University Hospital in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. South Korean trainee doctors collectively walked off their jobs Tuesday to escalate their protest of a government medical policy, triggering cancellations of surgeries and other medical treatments at hospitals. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

South Korean doctors walk out to protest medical training push, causing surgery cancellations

South Korean trainee doctors have collectively walked off their jobs to protest a government medical policy, triggering cancellations of surgeries and other medical treatments at hospitals.

FILE - This combination of photos shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, left, speaks at the Supreme People's Assembly in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Jan. 15, 2024 and Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a video address to mark the 31st anniversary of the founding of the National Energy Giant Gazprom at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence, outside Moscow, Russia, on Feb. 17, 2024. Putin has gifted Kim a Russian-made car for his personal use in a demonstration of their special relations, North Korea’s state media reported Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. (AP Photo, File)

Putin gives Kim Jong Un a luxury limousine. It’s a violation of UN sanctions on North Korea

Russian President Vladimir Putin has gifted North Korean leader Kim Jong Un a Russian-made luxury limousine for his personal use in a sign of their special relationship.

A TV screen shows a file image of North Korea's missile launch during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024. North Korea fired a ballistic missile toward the sea on Sunday, its neighbors said, in its first missile launch this year, as the North is expected to further raise regional animosities in an election year for its rivals South Korea and the United States. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

North Korea launches a suspected intermediate-range ballistic missile that can reach distant US bases

South Korea’s military says North Korea has fired a suspected intermediate-range ballistic missile toward the sea.

FILE - A mother and her daughter take a rest on the slopes at the Masik Pass ski resort in North Korea on Jan. 28, 2018. Russian tourists going on a ski trip will be the first international travelers to visit North Korea since the country's borders closed in 2020 amid the global pandemic lockdown, according to a report on the Russian state-run Tass news agency. (AP Photo/Eric Talmadge, File)

North Korea to welcome Russian tourists in February, the country’s first since the pandemic

Russian tourists going on a ski trip will be the first international travelers to visit North Korea since the country’s borders closed in 2020 amid the global pandemic lockdown.

South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung speaks as he leaves a hospital in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024. Lee was stabbed in the neck by a knife-wielding man who approached while asking for his autograph. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Man accused of stabbing a South Korean politician wanted to stop him from becoming president: police

South Korean police say the man accused of stabbing South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung in the neck told investigators that he wanted to kill him to prevent him from becoming the country’s president.