Trump Delivers Iran Ultimatum at UN Bitcoin Hits $85K 8-Month High

President Trump declared at the UN General Assembly on Sept 22 that America rejects globalist attempts to control AI, proposing that government documents replace the term AI with super intelligence.

xAI released Grok 4.7 on Sept 21 with 2.1 trillion parameters, a 40% increase over the previous version, at an unchanged price. The model was trained on SpaceX data including Starlink telemetry to enhance hardware reasoning capabilities.

The Bank of Korea's Sept 22 Financial Stability Situation report showed the Financial Vulnerability Index rising to 46.5 as of end-Q2. Metropolitan home prices rose and the monthly rent ratio reached 67.6%. MPC member Jang Yong-seong stated the bank will determine the timing and pace of further rate hikes.

The won/dollar exchange rate closed at 1,358.2 won at 3:30pm in the Seoul foreign exchange market on Sept 22. Easing Middle East tensions drove two consecutive days of sharp declines from near 1,400 won.

President Trump issued an ultimatum to Iran at the UN General Assembly on Sept 22 demanding a nuclear deal or complete military destruction. Advisors Kushner and Witkoff held back-channel meetings with Iranian representatives on the sidelines of the General Assembly.

President Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi met on Sept 22 on UN sidelines to coordinate a joint China strategy ahead of Xi Jinping's US visit. A US-Japan-Korea foreign ministers meeting was also held the same day, reaffirming the North Korea denuclearization position.

A high-level climate action meeting convened on Sept 23 under UN Secretary-General Guterres. The key agenda items were accelerating the just transition to renewable energy, expanding climate finance for developing nations, and strengthening adaptation in an era exceeding 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Amazon announced on Sept 22 that it will invest $20 million in a corporate coalition for Colorado River basin water conservation. The initiative targets saving over 400 million gallons of water annually through leak detection and agricultural sensor projects.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency issued an influenza epidemic alert on Sept 11. The outpatient rate for Sept 7-13 was 31.0 per 1,000, a 4.6-fold increase year-on-year. Children aged 7-12 showed the highest rate at 79.6 per 1,000 outpatient visits.

The target age for the 2026-27 national influenza vaccination was expanded from 13 to 14 years old. Due to the early outbreak, the vaccination schedule was moved forward with sequential rollout from Sept 21. Those aged 65 and older can receive shots from Oct 6.

The 2026 autumnal equinox occurred on Sept 22 at 8:05pm EDT as the sun crossed the celestial equator from north to south, officially marking the start of astronomical fall in the Northern Hemisphere. The Southern Hemisphere simultaneously began its astronomical spring.

Three solar phenomena were observed on Sept 22. The growing sunspot group AR4534 reappeared on the Earth-facing side of the sun, a C-class solar flare recurred, and a coronal hole reached an Earth-effective position.

NCT 127's 10th anniversary concert The Redline ran Sept 19-21 at KSPO Dome in Jamsil, drawing 31,500 fans over three nights. The final show in a five-member lineup was live-screened in over 1,000 cinemas across 40+ countries.

Agency Gemstone E&M announced the official reunion of all four Fin.K.L members — Lee Hyori, Ok Joo-hyun, Lee Jin, and Sung Yuri. Their first reunion in 21 years since a 2005 digital single, the agency stated this is aimed at ongoing group activities.

Korea's baseball team threw a perfect game against Hong Kong, winning 13-0 in a mercy-rule 7th inning at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games group stage on Sept 22. Jo Hyeong-woo hit a grand slam and Noh Si-hwan added a two-run home run, following their dominant win over Taiwan.

Korean fencer Song Se-ra won the gold medal in the women's epee individual final at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. Yoon Jeong-hyeon also took bronze in the men's foil individual, bringing Korea its first individual fencing medal in 8 years.

SKC disclosed on Sept 22 that it will participate in an additional 92.1 billion won rights offering by US subsidiary Absolics. Its cumulative investment will reach approximately 373.1 billion won and its stake will rise from 70.05% to 82.37%. The payment date was moved forward from Nov 24 to Sept 28.

Korea Customs Service data showed memory chip exports for Sept 1-20 surged 350.7% year-on-year to $21.5 billion. Samsung Electronics rose 4.98% and SK Square gained 4.45%, driving the KOSPI to 7,007.72 and reclaiming the 7,000 mark.

HUG opened a Lease and Rent Deposit Safety Trust Center in Yeouido, Seoul on Sept 22, providing end-to-end management of tenant deposits under public administration. The Ministry of Land noted that accelerating conversion from lease to monthly rent is increasing housing cost burdens on young and low-income households.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said in a Reuters interview on Sept 22 that the current loan restrictions favor cash-wealthy buyers and deprive young people without cash of their chance to buy their first home. He also reaffirmed his position that no portion of the Yongsan Park site will be allocated for apartment construction.

The government told the National Assembly's Trade, Industry and Energy Committee on Sept 22 that the Texas combined-cycle gas turbine plant has commercial viability as Korea's first US strategic investment. The opposition People Power Party requested thorough review of profitability given the project is still in development.

Minister Kim Sung-hwan of the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment officially announced a nuclear energy public deliberation plan at the Seoul Government Complex on Sept 22. The chair of the National Assembly's Climate, Energy and Environment committee called for supplying renewable energy to mega-projects while also extending aging nuclear plants and commercializing SMRs.

The Daejeon Metropolitan Office of Education announced on Sept 22 that it will establish a 14-member Education Activity Protection Unit directly under the Superintendent on Sept 23 to protect educators from rights violations and malicious complaints, providing a seven-stage one-stop support system.

Jeonbuk Special Self-Governing Province Office of Education held an inclusive education support capacity building training on Sept 22 for 220+ participants including special and integrated class teachers and school administrators, inviting the director of the documentary The Road to School to discuss the educational rights of students with disabilities.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman officially unveiled the Exobot sedan and SUV at the CEER manufacturing complex. With a peak output of 1,111 hp and 0-100 km/h in 2.1 seconds, the Exobot is the first of seven vehicle models planned through 2030.

All five of the top-selling imported Chinese car models in Korea in August 2026 were BYD vehicles. The top five totaled 3,002 units, led by the Dolphin (1,202 units) and Sea Lion 7 (819 units), pushing BYD's share of imported Chinese cars above 10%.

Check Point Software released an emergency patch for a critical path traversal vulnerability (CVE-2026-93616) in its Security Management Server. Unauthenticated attackers can upload and execute arbitrary scripts, and the vulnerability has been confirmed exploited in real attacks.

Security researcher Abdelhamid Naceri, known as Nightmare Eclipse, revealed his identity and subsequently published a new Microsoft Defender exploit called BigDiskBuster. The researcher has previously posted multiple Windows and Defender proof-of-concept codes.

Bitcoin broke through $85,000 on Sept 22, recording its highest level since January 2026. It reached $86,624, a 6.47% gain in 24 hours, with $648 million in short positions liquidated.

BitMEX permanently shut down at 04:00 UTC on Sept 23. The exchange, founded in 2014, once handled $3-5 billion in daily trading volume at its peak but ceased operations following its founders' conviction for anti-money laundering violations.

Cafe and bakery brands are expanding beyond beverages and desserts to offer sandwiches, salads, and paninis as meal substitutes. Dunkin opened a new flagship store at Jamsillsaenae Station featuring the YES ALL DAY concept to capture all-day dining demand.

Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced on Sept 22 that benzopyrene was detected at 10.0 mcg/kg — five times the legal limit of 2.0 mcg/kg — in Banha Perilla Oil made by Sangju Ijangnim Farm. Products manufactured Sept 3, 2026 were ordered recalled and consumers were urged to return them.

The union at semiconductor test component maker Lino Industries ended its indefinite general strike, which began July 23, on Sept 23, with approximately 300 members returning to work. The union said unresolved disputes over incentive payment structures remain and described the return as a tactical change rather than a settlement.

The union at Naver Z, operator of Zepeto, staged a one-day all-out strike on Sept 23. The union said the company rejected its 5.3% wage increase demand and had not requested talks following a partial strike on Sept 9, prompting morning rush-hour picketing and a YouTube live broadcast.