Bank of Korea will decide the timing and pace of any further benchmark interest rate increases while assessing trends in inflation, the domestic economy and financial stability.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and seven other ministries issued the 15th Five-Year Plan to enhance industrial base capabilities, directing a stepped-up innovation layout for frontier technologies. The plan targets quantum science, biomanufacturing, hydrogen and fusion energy, brain‑computer interfaces, embodied intelligence, 6G and deep space/deep‑sea/deep‑earth/polar technologies. Adopting a “scenario‑driven, foundation‑first” approach, it will pre‑emptively deploy key foundational product innovation tasks to boost supply of original and disruptive foundational technologies. The plan encourages industry players to partner with national laboratories, key state research institutes and top research universities, pursue multiple technical routes, accelerate typical application scenarios and fast‑track proof‑of‑concept, commercial validation and engineering industrialization to promote efficient commercialization of frontier‑tech results.

Kremlin says Ukraine’s situation will worsen if it does not make necessary decisions.