In this episode of The Korea Pro Podcast, Jeongmin, John and Joon Ha break down how South Korea is tightening monetary and strategic discipline ahead of next week’s high-stakes APEC meetings.

They begin with the Bank of Korea’s decision to keep interest rates at 2.5% — a move to anchor the won and curb housing risks while signaling fiscal restraint before President Donald Trump’s visit and final trade talks with Washington.

Next, they turn to Seoul’s expanding defense diplomacy at ADEX 2025, including Estonia’s move toward the K239 Chunmoo and Poland’s submarine project, and the launch of the KSS-III Batch-II submarine that underscores Seoul’s maturing deterrence posture.

The team then examines Foreign Minister Cho Hyun’s push to revise the U.S.-ROK 123 Agreement, granting Seoul more flexibility in nuclear-fuel processing and deepening its quest for energy sovereignty.

Finally, they preview the APEC week in Gyeongju — from Trump’s one-night stop and Xi Jinping’s industrial diplomacy to the APEC CEO Summit where Nvidia’s Jensen Huang joins Korea’s chaebol leaders — as Seoul braces for a defining moment in global diplomacy.

About the podcast: The Korea Pro Podcast is a weekly conversation hosted by Korea Risk Group Executive Director Jeongmin Kim, Editor John Lee and correspondent Joon Ha Park, diving deep into the most pressing stories shaping South Korea — and dissecting the most complicated ones for professionals monitoring ROK politics, diplomacy, culture, society and technology. Uploaded every Friday.

This episode was recorded on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025.

Audio edited by Lina Park