1. U.S. President Donald Trump, who previously mentioned the possibility of dialogue with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, once again reaffirmed that he will meet with Chairman Kim within this year. When asked by a reporter whether he plans to meet Chairman Kim later this year, President Trump answered that he does. President Trump also disclosed for the first time that North Korea's specific nuclear arsenal stands at 57 warheads. This marks the very first time a U.S. president has specifically confirmed the number of North Korea's nuclear weapons. In response, Minister of National Defense Ahn Gyu-back noted that while North Korea's nuclear stockpile is generally estimated to be between 80 and 120, exact figures are limited, implying that the precise number remains unknown.
2. Regarding this situation, Kim Yo-jong, Vice Department Director of the Workers' Party of Korea, pointed out regarding the scaling back of South Korea-U.S. joint exercises that reducing the scale or duration of the drills does not change the provocative and aggressive nature of the military exercises, emphasizing the reality that they are still ongoing. Making these remarks in a statement released via the Korean Central News Agency last night, Vice Director Kim drew a line regarding the communication between the leaders of the North and the U.S. mentioned by President Trump, stating that she knows nothing about it. However, she left the door open for dialogue by mentioning that Chairman Kim still holds good memories and personal affection for President Trump, describing the relationship between the two leaders as excellent.
3. The KOSPI, which plunged significantly in the wake of surging long-term government bond yields in major countries, recovered the 6,800 mark today (the 20th), making up for yesterday's sharp drop. From the early trading session, fueled by the strength of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, the KOSPI surged over 6% at one point, triggering a sidecar for program trading buy orders. In particular, the shares of SK Hynix, which announced plans yesterday to acquire and retire treasury shares worth 40 trillion won, jumped more than 14% today to surpass 1.7 million won per share.
4. Having found a new home at Spanish professional football club Atletico Madrid, Lee Kang-in scored his debut goal in the La Liga opening match. Playing in the team's first home match of the La Liga season against Malaga held in Madrid, Spain today, Lee scored the opening and winning goal in the 25th minute of the second half and was selected as the Man of the Match. This is his debut goal in his official debut match after leaving Paris Saint-Germain and transferring to Atletico this month. Lee's last goal in La Liga had come 3 years and 3 months ago in May 2023 during a match against Athletic Bilbao while he was playing for Mallorca.
※
Copying, redistribution, and unauthorized use in AI training are strictly prohibited.