South Korea

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South Korea’s Fourth Nuri Rocket Launch Marks Shift Toward Commercial Space Operations
Nov. 28, 2025 | Technology & Innovation

South Korea conducted the fourth launch of its domestically developed Nuri rocket, advancing its launch technology, industrial partnerships, and infrastructure capacity.

**The Nuri (KSLV-II) lifted off from the Naro Space Center in Goheung at 1:13 a.m. on November 27, 2025, after teams addressed an abnormal signal from an umbilical retrieval pressure sensor, which had delayed the countdown by 18 minutes.**
This first nighttime launch and fourth overall mission lasted 18 minutes and 25 seconds. The first stage separated at about two minutes, the second stage at four minutes and 30 seconds, and the vehicle achieved a sun-synchronous orbit at roughly 600 km before deploying its payload.

**Standing 47.2 meters tall and weighing 200 tons at liftoff, the rocket carried nearly 960 kg of payload.**
The primary payload, Next-Generation Medium-Sized Satellite No 3 (CAS500-3), weighed approximately 500 kg and carries ROKITS instruments for aurora and airglow observation, IAMMAP sensors for ionospheric plasma and magnetic field measurement, and a Bio Cabinet for microgravity cell-printing experiments. Twelve CubeSats developed by universities, research institutes, and startups will conduct missions spanning space debris disposal, 6G communication tests, bio-production, Earth observation, and semiconductor component verification.

**Under a technology transfer agreement with the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), Hanwha Aerospace served as system integrator for the first time, overseeing end-to-end vehicle production, assembly, and supply-chain management.**
Hanwha has produced 46 liquid engines to date—four 75-ton engines for the first stage, one 75-ton engine for the second stage, and a 7-ton engine for the third—slashing production time from six months to three through proprietary manufacturing adjustments. The company will also conduct launch operations for the fifth and sixth Nuri missions, slated for 2026 and 2027.

**Ground stations tracked engine burns, fairing separation, and payload deployment via telemetry.**
CAS500-3 made its first contact with the King Sejong Antarctic Station shortly after separation, and the CubeSats established sequential links with stations in Daejeon, Palau, Norway, and Antarctica. The Space and Aviation Agency and KARI will analyze mission data to verify precise orbit insertion and satellite performance against established success criteria.

**Naro Space Center’s No 2 launch pad system, designed, manufactured, and managed by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, provided all mechanical and propellant ground support equipment and launch control facilities.**
The pad covers 6,000 m2 across three basement levels, has supported all four Nuri missions, and represents South Korea’s fully domestic launch infrastructure.

**This fourth mission reflects South Korea’s shift from a government-led space program toward a private sector–driven model.**
The upcoming fifth and sixth launches will validate repeatable production and scalable operations, after which Hanwha Aerospace will assume full commercial launch responsibility. From the seventh mission in 2028 onward, Nuri is expected to fly at least once a year and introduce payload fee structures for private sector customers beyond the sixth state-focused flights.

**Amid global launch capacity constraints caused by delays and restrictions at Japanese, European, and Russian providers, South Korea aims to position Nuri as a competitive medium-class launch vehicle.**
With over 300 domestic suppliers, a complete in-country launch infrastructure, and a roadmap to commercial operations, the program seeks to secure a foothold in the expanding global satellite launch market.
Omnimodal AI Agent Race Accelerates as Naver and Kakao Advance Multimodal Platforms
Nov. 27, 2025 | Technology & Innovation

Recent advancements in AI agent platforms focus on integrating text, images, voice, intonation, and emotional cues into a single model to enable more natural, contextually aware interactions.

**Naver and Kakao are each building “omnimodal” AI models that learn from multiple data types within one architecture.**
These models will serve as the backbone of their next-generation AI agent services, scheduled to launch next year, and allow users to engage across modalities without switching among siloed systems.

**Kakao’s current multimodal engine, KANANA-o, merges vision and audio processing and already operates within KakaoTalk to analyze short-form content.**
It detects user emotions and intonation to support more natural conversational exchanges. Kakao applies reinforcement learning continuously to sharpen KANANA-o’s communication skills and optimizes the model for deployment across its broader service portfolio.

**The company plans to evolve KANANA-o into a full omnimodal platform by 2026.**
Meanwhile, it will introduce a successor—KANANA2—later this year. KANANA2 will feature advanced architectures such as Mixture of Experts and Multi-Head Latent Attention, and Kakao is considering an open-source release to encourage community-driven enhancements and wider adoption.

**Naver is advancing toward omnimodality with its forthcoming HyperCLOVA X foundation model, expected in January 2026, alongside the integrated Agent N platform, which will unify text, image, and voice inputs under one interface.**
In July, Naver set a precedent by open-sourcing the HyperCLOVA X Seed 14B Think model, signaling its strategy of sharing foundational technology with the broader ecosystem.

**By embedding vision, audio, text, and affective cues in a single framework, both companies aim to deliver AI agents that adapt seamlessly to human communication nuances and enhance user experience across diverse input forms.**

Monitored Intelligence for South Korea - Nov. 28, 2025


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Erudite Risk takes an all risks approach to intelligence reporting. We categorize key intelligence into one of 40 different risk intelligence categories.

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中 글로벌 조선시장 독주…韓·美 '마스가' 동맹으로 판 바꾼다

China dominates the global shipbuilding market… South Korea and the US form a 'Moss-gah' alliance to change the game

Digital Daily | Local Language | News | Nov. 28, 2025 | Shifting Geopolitical Alliances

As of the third quarter of 2025, China holds a dominant 56% share of global shipbuilding orders, significantly ahead of South Korea's 22%. China has not only maintained its volume advantage due to low labor costs but has also penetrated high-value-added and eco-friendly ship sectors traditionally led by Korea. In 2024, China surpassed Korea in orders for very large crude carriers (VLCCs), large container ships, and LNG carriers, with China commanding 72.4% of orders versus Korea's 27%. China also leads in eco-friendly ships powered by LNG or methanol fuel, holding 54.2% of orders compared to Korea's 27.4% through October 2025.

China’s growth is underpinned by strong state-level R&D investment, production automation, and a dual approach involving both 71 state-owned and 241 private shipyards. State-owned shipyards in China are catching up to Korean technology, while private yards produce large volumes of small- and mid-sized low-value vessels. By October 2025, the combined order backlog amounted to about 3,900 vessels. Conversely, the U.S. shipbuilding industry has declined significantly; despite 414 shipyards nationwide, only 19 have a commercial ship order backlog, while the Chinese navy continues to expand rapidly, projected to reach 425 vessels by 2030 compared to the U.S. Navy’s 294.

In response, South Korea and the U.S. are collaborating through the MASGA project to counter China's dominance. They plan to form a working group to enhance cooperation in commercial shipbuilding, nuclear submarines, and warships, potentially involving security ministries. Recent agreements include U.S. approval of South Korean construction of nuclear submarines and high-level U.S. Navy engagements with major Korean shipbuilders like HD Hyundai Heavy Industries. South Korea aims to leverage MASGA to enter the U.S. market, strengthen alliances, and export shipbuilding technology to build a "K-shipbuilding alliance network" that includes countries such as Saudi Arabia, Brazil, and India.

The long-term goal is to create a broad alliance of nations equipped with Korean shipbuilding technology, shifting the competitive dynamic from China versus Korea to China versus a coalition of K-shipbuilding allied countries. This strategy is intended to counter China's volume advantages and maintain the competitiveness of Korea's shipbuilding industry on the global stage.

중국, 딥시크·알리바바 앞세워 'AI 오픈소스' 미국 추월

China Overtakes US in AI Open Source Led by DeepSeek and Alibaba

ET News | Local Language | News | Nov. 28, 2025 | UndeterminedTech Development/Adoption

China, led by DeepSeek and Alibaba, has surpassed the United States in the global AI open-source market for the first time. A recent study by MIT and Hugging Face indicated that Chinese AI open-source models account for 17% of new downloads over the past year, overtaking the combined 15.8% share of U.S. developers including Google, Meta, and OpenAI. This shift is seen as giving Chinese AI open source an advantage in global adoption, as open source lowers barriers for developers by allowing free downloads and modifications.

The United States' approach, shaped by the Trump administration’s push to promote open-source models reflecting “American values,” contrasts with China’s strategy. U.S. tech giants focus on developing proprietary frontier models to maintain control and revenue via subscriptions and corporate deals. While Meta initially opened models like "Llama," it has since increased efforts toward closed models for superintelligence development. Conversely, Chinese firms, encouraged by government policies and restrictions on exporting cutting-edge AI semiconductors, have accelerated open-source model development and domestic collaboration, fostering a more vibrant open-source ecosystem.

Chinese companies such as DeepSeek and Alibaba release models more frequently, often weekly or biweekly, providing a variety of options compared to the less frequent releases of U.S. firms. Techniques like model distillation, encouraged by U.S. export controls on advanced semiconductors, have led Chinese researchers to develop small but powerful models. Additionally, Chinese firms are actively progressing in AI video-generation models. Experts highlight that China has more active participants in open-source AI development than the U.S., prompting concern among U.S. analysts about China's rapid advancements in this field.

이해진·송치형 "새로운 글로벌 플랫폼 질서 만들겠다"

Lee Hae-jin and Song Chi-hyung will create a new global platform order

ZD Net Korea | Local Language | News | Nov. 28, 2025 | UndeterminedBizdev-Partnering

Naver Financial and Dunamu, together with their parent company Naver, have formulated a plan to develop next-generation financial infrastructure by integrating artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain technologies. Their goal is to create a new global platform that will extend beyond payments to cover the entire financial sector and lifestyle services.

Song Chi-hyung, chairman of Dunamu, highlighted the synergy expected from the merger, emphasizing that combining strengths will enhance global competitiveness in technology, trust, and customer base. He noted the fintech market's expansion from payments into investment, asset management, and capital markets, with blockchain-based services emerging. Song predicted this evolution would lead to a new economic ecosystem merging lifestyle services like search, shopping, and content with finance.

Song stressed that the United States is currently leading this change and urged timely action to avoid falling behind global competitors. Lee Hae-jin, chairman of Naver's board, echoed the importance of cooperation for survival and competition in this evolving landscape. Lee explained that their drive to global expansion motivated the partnership, embracing the challenge to pioneer AI technology convergence in finance on a global scale.

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