*[Global Morning Briefing] summarizes global news delivered by Seoul Economic Daily.*
The truce memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed on Dec. 17 between the United States and Iran has been shaken from the outset, as the two sides exchanged attacks over three days.
The clash began on Dec. 25 when Iran used a drone to attack a Singapore-flagged container ship passing through the Strait of Hormuz. In response, US forces launched airstrikes on targets inside Iran on Dec. 26, and Iran retaliated in the early hours of the same day by striking the Panama-flagged oil tanker Kikuho with a drone. The US Central Command said on Dec. 27, "At the direction of the commander-in-chief, we conducted additional airstrikes on multiple targets inside Iran," adding that the strikes were "a direct response to Iran's continued attacks on commercial vessels," formalizing its second counterstrike.
Iran immediately struck back. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it responded to the additional US airstrikes with missiles and drones, destroying eight major US military infrastructure facilities across the Persian Gulf, including the Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait and the US Navy Fifth Fleet base at Bahrain's Salman Port. Iran also threatened to halt all diplomatic procedures entirely if the United States continued to violate the MOU, leaving open the possibility of further clashes.
President Trump currently appears inclined to refrain from escalating into all-out war, considering domestic oil price stability and elections. However, inside Iran, calls are growing louder for closing the strait to pressure Israel into halting its military operations in Lebanon. With clashes between Israel and Hezbollah continuing, even the hard-won peace agreement is at risk of being nullified. The follow-up working-level talks between the two countries that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had announced, as well as plans for International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to return to Iran, have also become uncertain due to this incident.
It's a No-Fly Zone... 'Mystery' of Light Aircraft That Crashed Into 108-Story Building in Beijing
Suspicions are spreading over an unusual accident in which a light aircraft crashed into a 108-story skyscraper in downtown Beijing, China. With the crash site only 7 km from Zhongnanhai, where Chinese President Xi Jinping's office and residence are located, some have even raised theories of political intent. Chinese authorities have been thoroughly controlling the flow of related information, blocking roads at the scene and preventing photography.
Authorities in Beijing's Chaoyang District said via social media on Dec. 27, "At around 5:55 p.m. on Dec. 26, a single-engine, two-seat light sport aircraft (LSA) flying near the East Third Ring Road collided with a high-rise building." They explained that the sole occupant, the pilot, was killed and 13 people were injured, but did not separately disclose the cause of the accident, the pilot's identity, or the reason for the deviation from the flight path.
As the authorities' announcement came only a day after the accident, rumors quickly spread online that the pilot was Liu Junhua, a senior executive in the wealth management division of China CITIC Bank. An unverified screenshot of a conversation circulated, claiming he deliberately crashed after suffering massive investment losses from a margin call (a demand for additional collateral), and the Financial Times (FT) reported that the owner of a vehicle parked at the airport where the aircraft was based was also confirmed to be Liu Junhua. China CITIC Bank indirectly denied the rumors by posting on its official WeChat account that "Mr. Liu shared the company's development strategy."
Meanwhile, the New York Times (NYT), citing sources, reported that Anthropic and the US government are also discussing restoring access to 'Fable 5,' which has drawn significant consumer interest. Unlike Mythos 5, which is only allowed for computing infrastructure companies and a small number of institutional customers, Fable 5 was released to be usable by general users as well by applying guardrails (safety mechanisms).
Some point out that this accident exposed weaknesses in Beijing's air defense network, which has emphasized airtight security to the point of banning even drone flights. Bill Bishop, publisher of the China-focused newsletter Sinocism, analyzed, "There is a possibility that the crashed aircraft's flight path was heading near Zhongnanhai, the key base of China's leadership," adding, "Had it flown just a few seconds longer, it could have reached Zhongnanhai, which would be an event that would shake Beijing's security system." Su Tzu-yun, director of Taiwan's Institute for National Defense and Security Research, also raised the possibility of a political motive, saying, "Beijing is effectively a no-fly zone." Dennis Wilder, former senior China analyst at the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), noted, "There is a possibility that President Xi will regard this accident as a potential assassination threat and will move to fully strengthen security and punish those responsible."
US Grants Priority Access to Anthropic's 'Mythos 5' to Domestic Companies Only
The US government has eased restrictions on the use of Anthropic's top-tier AI model 'Claude Mythos 5,' granting priority to domestic companies first. The move loosens some regulations about two weeks after the Donald Trump administration announced export controls on Anthropic's AI models, opening up access in phases, beginning with trusted partners within the United States.
According to Reuters and the Washington Post (WP) on Dec. 26, the US Department of Commerce notified Anthropic in a confidential letter that "only certain companies within the United States can use Mythos 5." US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick assessed in the letter that "sufficient security measures are in place for certain trusted partners to use the Mythos 5 model." This is a measure that limits use to specific US companies and institutions that the US government has confirmed to be safe. The WP reported, "The specific list of companies and institutions that can use Mythos 5 has not yet been confirmed," adding, "However, the list is known to include some 100 companies and institutions within the United States." The Commerce Department's letter also stated that the government could change the list of approved entities at any time.
Korean companies including Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, and SK Telecom, which previously had early access to 'Mythos,' the predecessor of Mythos 5, through collaboration with Anthropic, are expected to be excluded from this priority approval. This has drawn criticism that the US administration is arbitrarily controlling access to advanced AI models. There are also concerns that the government's unusual and sweeping export controls could instead shake the US lead in AI.
