South Korea unveils massive AI-chip drive | East Asia Tonight 29 June 2026

Seoul is looking to sharpen its competitive edge in the fast-moving era of AI, in a push backed by tech giants like Samsung and SK Hynix. Also on East Asia Tonight, China’s trade chief is set to meet with his EU counterpart, with the bloc's US$400b trade deficit in focus. Meanwhile, Beijing adds 20 Japanese organisations to its export control list. In other news, China accuses Australia of playing "geopolitical games" with the Vanuatu deal.

00:00 Intro
01:32 South Korea rolls out chip, AI mega projects
08:26 China imposes export controls on more Japanese entities
09:51 EU-China trade chiefs to meet
15:51 Warnings over Big Tech AI expenditure
23:51 EU-China trade insights with Kerry Brown
39:03 Experts track manta rays in Japan's Okinawa
43:40 Seoul to probe football team's early World Cup departure