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Equity markets were mixed on Monday as worries about fresh US tariffs pencilled in for next week were tempered by a report that Donald Trump was considering a more targeted approach.Investor sentiment has been jolted in recent weeks by fears that the president’s hardball policies could deal a painful blow to the global economy.He has caused ructions on trading floors since resuming power in January by hitting out at long-standing allies and imposing or threatening swingeing tariffs on imports of an array of goods, including steel and cars.Next Wednesday is now the focus of attention, with Trump labelling it “Liberation Day” as he prepares to unveil a raft of reciprocal measures to counter those in other countries.”Anticipation and pre-positioning ahead of Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ on 2 April and the impending deluge of tariff-related announcements that will follow in the days/weeks after will be a growing factor that drives price action, sentiment and liquidity in markets this week,” said Chris Weston at Pepperstone.”As the sky begins to bruise and darken, and the atmospheric pressure builds within the capital markets, market players question if it’s time to batten down the hatches in preparation for a storm of uncertainty set to be unleashed on markets.”The Federal Reserve last week warned that “uncertainty around the economic outlook has increased” while the central banks of Japan and Britain also warned about the impact of the White House’s policies.Chinese Premier Li Qiang said at the weekend that Beijing was readying for “shocks that exceed expectations” ahead of the latest measures, adding that “instability and uncertainty are on the upswing”.His comments came as he met heads of some of the world’s biggest companies, including Apple, Qualcomm, FedEx and Pfizer.And Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers told Bloomberg News the moves by Trump “are not surprising, but they are seismic”.However, there was some hope among investors after Bloomberg News reported that the US administration was considering a more targeted approach to the tariffs, with some countries being hit harder than others, and the measures not being as severe as initially feared.That came after the president told reporters Friday that “there’ll be flexibility” in his plans.Asian markets fluctuated through the day, with Tokyo falling along with Seoul, Taipei, Manila and Bangkok.Jakarta dived more than four percent at one point, extending a recent sell-off fuelled by worries about Southeast Asia’s biggest economy that has seen the country’s main index lose around 15 percent since the turn of the year.Hong Kong rose 0.9 percent after two days of losses, while Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore, Mumbai and Wellington also edged up.London, Paris and Frankfurt opened on the front foot.Gold held around $3,025, having hit a series of records last week to a peak of more than $3,057 owing to a surge in demand for safe havens.- Key figures around 0815 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.2 percent at 37,608.49 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.9 percent at 23,905.56 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.2 percent at 3,370.03 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.5 percent at 8,687.34Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0840 from $1.0815 on FridayPound/dollar: UP at $1.2949 from $1.2918Dollar/yen: UP at 149.64 yen from 149.36 yenEuro/pound: UP at 83.73 pence from 83.72 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.3 percent at $68.48 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.2 percent at $72.33 per barrelNew York – Dow: UP 0.1 percent at 41,985.35 points (close)

Asian markets swung on Monday as the White House prepares to impose tariffs on key trading partners next week that many fear could deal a painful blow to the global economy.A report saying US President Donald Trump was considering a more targeted approach to the levies, which are expected to kick in on April 2, did little to soothe investors’ nerves, with the uncertainty dealing a blow to confidence.The US leader has sent shivers through markets since resuming power in January by hitting out at long-standing allies and imposing or threatening swingeing tariffs on imports of an array of goods, including steel and cars.Next Wednesday is now the focus of attention, with Trump labelling it “Liberation Day” as he prepares to unveil a raft of reciprocal measures to counter those in other countries.”Anticipation and pre-positioning ahead of Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ on 2 April and the impending deluge of tariff-related announcements that will follow in the days/weeks after will be a growing factor that drives price action, sentiment and liquidity in markets this week,” said Chris Weston at Pepperstone. “As the sky begins to bruise and darken, and the atmospheric pressure builds within the capital markets, market players question if it’s time to batten down the hatches in preparation for a storm of uncertainty set to be unleashed on markets.”The Federal Reserve last week warned that “uncertainty around the economic outlook has increased” while the central banks of Japan and Britain also warned about the impact of the White House’s policies.Chinese Premier Li Qiang said at the weekend that Beijing was readying for “shocks that exceed expectations” ahead of the latest measures, adding that “instability and uncertainty are on the upswing”.His comments came as he met heads of some of the world’s biggest companies, including Apple, Qualcomm, FedEx and Pfizer.And Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers told Bloomberg News the moves by Trump “are not surprising, but they are seismic”.Bloomberg News reported that the US administration was considering a more targeted approach to the tariffs, with some countries being hit harder than others, and the measures not being as severe as initially feared.That came after the president told reporters Friday that “there’ll be flexibility” in his plans.Still, Asian investors struggled to get the week off to a strong start, with markets fluctuating through the morning.Tokyo was flat, while Shanghai, Singapore and Taipei were slightly higher.Hong Kong, Sydney, Seoul and Wellington edged down.Gold held around $3,025, having hit a series of records last week to a peak of more than $3,057 owing to a surge in demand for safe havens.- Key figures around 0230 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: FLAT at 37,676.97 (break)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.1 percent at 23,660.67Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 3,369.57Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0831 from $1.0815 on FridayPound/dollar: UP at $1.2930 from $1.2918Dollar/yen: UP at 149.75 yen from 149.36 yenEuro/pound: UP at 83.76 pence from 83.72 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.2 percent at $68.13 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.3 percent at $71.97 per barrelNew York – Dow: UP 0.1 percent at 41,985.35 points (close)London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.6 percent at 8,646.79 points (close)

Pakistan on Sunday charged a Baloch rights activist with terrorism, sedition and murder after she led a demonstration which ended in the death of three protesters, according to police documents.Mahrang Baloch, one of Pakistan’s most prominent human rights advocates, has long campaigned for the Baloch ethnic group, which claims it has been targeted by Islamabad with harassment and extrajudicial killings.Pakistan has been battling a separatist insurgency in Balochistan for decades, where militants target state forces and foreign nationals in the mineral-rich southwestern province bordering Afghanistan and Iran.On Friday, she and other activists took part in a sit-in protest outside the University of Balochistan in the provincial capital of Quetta.They demanded the release of members of their support group, whom they allege had been detained by security agencies.Police launched a pre-dawn raid on Saturday, arresting Baloch and other activists, during which at least three protestors died. Both sides blamed each other for the deaths.Mary Lawlor, the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights defenders, said she was “very concerned” at Baloch’s arrest.Baloch and other protesters have been charged with terrorism, sedition and murder, according to the police charge sheet seen by AFP.Hamza Shafqaat, a senior administrative official in Quetta, said that Baloch and other activists were held under public order laws.Her lawyer, Imran Baloch, confirmed she was detained in a jail in Quetta.Baloch was barred from travelling to the United States last year to attend a TIME magazine awards gala of “rising leaders”.Protests among the Baloch are often led by women. Baloch, now in her 30s, began her activist career aged 16 when her father went missing in what his supporters said was an alleged “enforced disappearance”. His body was found two years later.Earlier in March, the separatist Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) — which accuses outsiders of plundering the province’s natural resources — launched a dramatic train siege that officials said ended in around 60 deaths, half of whom were separatists behind the assault.

China’s number two leader on Sunday called for “dialogue” with Washington, during a meeting in Beijing attended by prominent US business executives and a key congressional ally of President Donald Trump.Relations between the world’s two largest economies have plunged in recent weeks, as blanket tariffs imposed by Trump threaten China’s trade prospects.Premier Li Qiang’s comments came during a meeting with Trump supporter Steve Daines, a Republican senator from Montana.His visit has been viewed as a bid to ease strained relations, with an eye toward setting up a summit between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.”Our two sides need to choose dialogue over confrontation, win-win cooperation over zero-sum competition,” Li told Daines.CEOs of major firms including FedEx, Pfizer and Qualcomm were also present.Li said he hoped Washington would “work together with China to promote the steady, sound and sustainable development” of relations.Earlier on Sunday, Li told the China Development Forum that Beijing would pursue economic globalisation despite “fragmentation”, a thinly veiled reference to trade turmoil sparked by Trump.- ‘Rough waters’ -Chinese leaders have been attempting to steer a shaky economy onto a more stable path since the end of the pandemic, particularly by boosting consumption.They are seeking to position the country as a defender of the multilateral economic system, as Trump wages tariff wars with major US trading partners including China, Canada and Mexico.”China will firmly stand on the correct side of history, that of fairness and justice, and act in a righteous manner amid the rough waters of the times,” Li said at the annual forum, attended by business leaders including Apple CEO Tim Cook.Beijing will “adhere to the correct direction of economic globalisation, practice true multilateralism and strive to be a force for stability and certainty”, Li said.In an apparent reference to renewed trade wars sparked by Trump, Li said that “global economic fragmentation is intensifying” and that “instability and uncertainty are on the rise”.- ‘Candid dialogue’ -Talks were also expected to discuss the flow of the deadly drug fentanyl and its precursor chemicals from China into the United States.Trump says his new tariffs on China are due to Beijing’s failure to stem shipments of the chemicals, which underpin a devastating drug crisis.Beijing insists it has already cracked down on the illicit production and trade of drugs, describing the issue as one for Washington to solve.Daines on Saturday also met with Vice Premier He Lifeng, a close advisor to President Xi Jinping on economic matters.During his meeting with Daines, He said that China “firmly opposes the politicisation, weaponisation and instrumentalisation of economic and trade issues”.The vice premier added that China was willing to “engage in candid dialogue” with the United States, saying they had “many common interests and broad space for cooperation”.The tariffs imposed by Trump amount to a 20 percent blanket hike on Chinese overseas shipments to the United States.China’s exports reached record heights last year, but observers warn that turbulence in the global trading system could soon force Beijing to find other ways to boost activity.Beijing says it is targeting growth this year of around five percent — the same as last year and a goal considered ambitious by many economists.

Major global stock markets mostly suffered another difficult day Friday, with heightened concerns over the potential fallout from US President Donald Trump’s tariff agenda blunting confidence.Gold held firm after hitting a new record Thursday. Oil prices picked up slightly amid simmering tensions in the crude-heavy Middle East, where Israel threatened to annex part of the Gaza Strip and Sudan’s army retook control of the presidential palace.US stocks slumped on opening but eked out gains by day-end with all three major indexes closing higher after fluctuations.Angelo Kourkafas of Edward Jones noted that there is “some hesitation” given the trade uncertainties ahead of Trump’s expected April 2 announcement on “reciprocal tariffs.”But Trump told reporters Friday that “there’ll be flexibility” in his plans.At the close of trading, major European indices likewise had been through a tough day following some heavy falls in Asia.London, Frankfurt and Paris all closed lower.”Overall, stocks are sliding because of a lack of confidence,” said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB trading group.”There is a confidence deficit around the world, which has been triggered by the unorthodox economic policies of Donald Trump.”One of the worst-hit markets was the Istanbul stock exchange which lost 7.8 percent two days after an 8.7 percent hit provoked by street protests that erupted after the arrest of Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu — President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s main political opponent.Stock markets across the globe had already retreated on Thursday after the Federal Reserve painted a gloomier picture for the US economy in the near future, even if Fed boss Jerome Powell played down the impact of tariffs.”While all the attention is on tariffs, another major negative supply shock is hitting the US economy: slowing immigration,” said Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg Bank.”The US labour market depends heavily on immigrants, who have accounted for almost the entire rise in the labour force since the pandemic.”The Bank of England and Bank of Japan this week have warned about economic uncertainty fueled by Trump.Shares in Hong Kong sank for a second day running after a blistering start to the year.Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD dived more than eight percent following a report that the European Commission was conducting a foreign subsidy investigation into its plant in Hungary.British Airways-owner IAG retreated 2.8 percent after the airline warned that the temporary closure of Heathrow airport, its main hub, would significantly affect operations.Europe’s busiest airport shut down early Friday after a fire at a nearby substation supplying power to the sprawling facility west of London.Nike slid 5.5 percent on Friday after the athletic footwear and apparel giant reported lower quarterly revenue.Unease about the outlook continues to push gold prices higher as investors seek a safe haven from the volatility.”While much ink has been spilled linking the latest leg-up in the price over the last month to the US growth scare, it is notable that gold has historically had a mixed record around US recessions,” said Kieran Tompkins, senior climate and commodities economist at Capital Economics.- Key figures around 2020 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 0.1 percent at 41,985.35 points (close)New York – S&P: UP 0.1 percent 5,667.56 (close)New York – Nasdaq: UP 0.5 percent at 17,784.05 (close)London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.6 percent at 8,646.79 points (close)Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.6 percent at 8,042.95 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.5 percent at 22,891.68 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.2 percent at 37,677.06 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 2.2 percent at 23,689.72 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 1.3 percent at 3,364.83 (close)Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0815 from $1.0856 on ThursdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2918 from $1.2967Dollar/yen: UP at 149.36 yen from 148.76 yenEuro/pound: FLAT at 83.72 pence from 83.72 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.3 percent at $68.28 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.2 percent at $72.16 per barrel

Jaguar’s ambition to seduce younger, richer drivers was on full display in Paris with a presentation of its newest prototype, the Type 00, which promises all-electric luxury… at a steep price.The low-slung, muscular-looking concept car presented to European reporters on Friday prefigures a production model expected mid-2026 at a base cost of 150,000 euros ($160,000).That’s double what the current line-up of Jags cost, positioning it more in Porsche territory.But the prestigious British brand — owned since 2008 by Indian automobile giant Tata Motors — has embarked on a campaign to remake itself as a ride for a far younger clientele than the one traditionally associated with it. Especially as the market goes increasingly electric.Late last year, the company raised eyebrows by releasing unveiling a new logo with curved lettering, and an ad featuring a colourful, multicultural cast of models — but no cars.The Type 00 prototype is equally as colourful: the electric blue version shown off looked like it had come from the set of a “Tron” movie. Jaguar says the philosophy behind its newest offering is “exuberant modernism”. Jaguar’s managing director, Rawdon Glover, on hand to sit behind the prototype’s wheel, called it “a very clear manifestation of all of the future Jaguars that will come”.The target market, Glover said, was “maybe between 35 and 50” and with “definitely an interest in design and interest in technology”.Jaguar has an uphill challenge, however. According to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), Jaguar in January this year represented only around 1.2 percent of the European market for all cars sold.The company sold 78,000 vehicles in Europe between April 2023 and end of March 2024, according to its 2024 annual report.In the growing electric-car segment, vehicles from Tesla, Volvo, Volkswagen dominate, and many European buyers are balking at higher price tags as economic uncertainty looms.But Jaguar hopes the Type 00 tech will prove attractive, with a promised range of 700 kilometres (430 miles) between charges, and models offering up to 1,000 horsepower.The manufacturer, however, did not give details about the heavy batteries the cars would be fitted with.Other luxury car-makers are slowing their transition towards all-electric vehicles, given the muted response from their customers.Aston Martin, Bentley, Maserati and other brands have put off their plans, and Jaguar’s stable-mate Range Rover has delayed production of its electric SUV.

Major global stock markets suffered another difficult day Friday, with heightened concerns over the potential fallout from US President Donald Trump’s tariff agenda blunting confidence.Gold held firm after hitting a new record Thursday. Oil prices picked up slightly amid simmering tensions in the crude-heavy Middle East, where Israel threatened to annex part of the Gaza Strip and Sudan’s army retook control of the presidential palace.US stocks slumped on opening but mitigated those losses by the early afternoon with the NASDAQ falling 0.1 percent, the Dow dropping by 0.2 percent and the S&P losing 0.3 percent.At the close of trading, major European indices likewise had been through a tough day following some heavy falls in Asia.London and Frankfurt lost 0.5 percent with Paris faring slightly worse.”Overall, stocks are sliding because of a lack of confidence,” said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB trading group.”There is a confidence deficit around the world, which has been triggered by the unorthodox economic policies of Donald Trump.”One of the worst-hit markets was the Istanbul stock exchange which lost 7.8 percent two days after an 8.7 percent hit provoked by street protests that erupted after the arrest of Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu — President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s main political opponent.Stock markets across the globe had already retreated on Thursday after the Federal Reserve painted a gloomier picture for the US economy in the near future, even if Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell played down the impact of tariffs.”While all the attention is on tariffs, another major negative supply shock is hitting the US economy: slowing immigration,” said Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg Bank.”The US labour market depends heavily on immigrants, who have accounted for almost the entire rise in the labour force since the pandemic.”The Bank of England and Bank of Japan this week have warned about economic uncertainty fuelled by Trump.Shares in Hong Kong sank for a second day running after a blistering start to the year.Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD dived more than eight percent following a report that the European Commission was conducting a foreign subsidy investigation into its plant in Hungary.British Airways-owner IAG retreated 2.8 percent after the airline warned that the temporary closure of Heathrow airport, its main hub, would significantly affect operations.Europe’s busiest airport shut down early on Friday after a fire at a nearby substation supplying power to the sprawling facility west of London. “This will clearly have a significant impact on our operation and our customers and we’re working as quickly as possible to update them on their travel options for the next 24 hours and beyond,” British Airways said in a statement.Nike slid 5.3 percent on Friday after the athletic footwear and apparel giant reported falling quarterly revenue.Unease about the outlook continues to push gold prices higher as investors seek a safe haven from the volatility. The precious metal was sitting just below the record $3,057.49 per ounce (28.35 grammes) touched on Thursday.”While much ink has been spilled linking the latest leg-up in the price over the last month to the US growth scare, it is notable that gold has historically had a mixed record around US recessions,” said Kieran Tompkins, senior climate and commodities economist at Capital Economics.- Key figures around 1630 GMT -New York – Dow: DOWN 0.2 percent at 41,860.69 pointsNew York – S&P: DOWN 0.3 percent 5,646.00New York – Nasdaq: DOWN 0.1 percent at 17,676.32London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.5 percent at 8,655.47 points (close)Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.6 percent at 8,049.18 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.5 percent at 22,891.38 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.2 percent at 37,677.06 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 2.2 percent at 23,689.72 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 1.3 percent at 3,364.83 (close)Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0825 from $1.0856 on ThursdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2918 from $1.2967Dollar/yen: UP at 149.02 yen from 148.76 yenEuro/pound: UP at 83.79 pence from 83.72 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.2 percent at $68.24 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.1 percent at $72.07 per barrel

China said on Friday it welcomed a visit to Beijing by Republican US Senator Steve Daines, who has vowed to raise trade tensions and fentanyl smuggling with officials this week.Daines, a strong supporter of US President Donald Trump, has extensive business experience in China and Hong Kong.”China welcomes Senator Daines’s visit and it also welcomes Americans from all walks of life, including members of Congress, to visit China,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a regular briefing.”China has always believed that maintaining stable, healthy and sustainable development of China-US ties is in the common interest of both peoples and is the general expectation of the international community,” Mao said.Trump has unleashed tariffs on major trading partners including China, Canada and Mexico since returning to the White House in January, citing trade imbalances and their failure to stem the flow of deadly fentanyl into the United States.Daines, who represents the state of Montana, has said he would raise those issues with Chinese officials during his visit this week.”We know… it’s the Mexican cartels that are producing the fentanyl but those precursors, the raw materials, come from China,” he told Fox News on Monday.”I will be talking with the Chinese leadership about what they can do,” he said. “They can do a whole lot more to shut down the flow of these chemicals that go to Mexico and then fentanyl comes in the United States.”He also said he would address the yawning trade imbalance between the world’s two largest economies.”This will be about fentanyl. It will also be about this $300 billion trade deficit that we have with China, what we can do to change the trade practices,” he said.”We could sell a whole lot more into China.”Trump said this week that Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping would visit the United States soon.Beijing has not confirmed the visit. 

A South Korean court on Friday ruled against popular K-pop girl group NewJeans, which had sought to sever ties with their label ADOR over what they called “mistreatment” by the company. The group made headlines in November by announcing their decision to leave ADOR, whose parent company HYBE is behind K-pop sensation BTS.The label later filed for an injunction to maintain its status as the managing agency of NewJeans, requesting that the Seoul Central District Court prohibit the group’s members from engaging in independent commercial activities.The court on Friday sided with ADOR, issuing a ruling that the group — now branding themselves as NJZ — must not pursue independent endeavours.The court said in a statement that if the group “unilaterally terminate their exclusive contract” with ADOR, and change their name autonomously, the label would suffer “significant damages”.The group’s actions would also “severely damage not only the brand value of NewJeans but also ADORE’s reputation as a management company,” the court added.NewJeans made their debut in 2022 and the K-pop phenomenon is among HYBE’s most successful acts.NewJeans and ADOR have been caught in the heated contract dispute since August, following allegations that HYBE forced out the group’s star producer, Min Hee-jin.The band issued an ultimatum for Min’s reinstatement, which HYBE declined. In response, the members took their grievances public, accusing the label of intentionally sabotaging their careers.Band member Hanni alleged last year that the group experienced workplace harassment, such as “deliberate miscommunications and manipulation regarding multiple areas” while working with ADOR.”This is not the type of work ethic we respect and not one we want to be a part of, and to continue working under a company with no intention of protecting NewJeans would only do us harm,” she said at the time.But the court on Friday said that based on the claims and evidence submitted by the group, it is “difficult to conclude that ADOR has sufficiently violated the essential obligations of the exclusive contract”.ADOR welcomed the court’s “judicious” decision, and said they “eagerly anticipate meeting with the artists for a heartfelt conversation at the earliest opportunity”.”With our status as NewJeans’ exclusive agency now legally affirmed, we are fully committed to supporting the artists going forward,” the label said in a statement.

Growing up in North Korea, Hyuk’s childhood was about survival. He never listened to banned K-pop music but, after defecting to the South, he’s about to debut as an idol.Hyuk is one of two young North Koreans in a new K-pop band called 1Verse — the first time that performers originally from the nuclear-armed North have been trained up for stardom in South Korea’s global K-pop industry.Before he was 10, Hyuk — who like many K-pop idols now goes by one name — was skipping school to work on the streets in his native North Hamgyong province and admits he “had to steal quite a bit just to survive”.”I had never really listened to K-pop music”, he told AFP, explaining that “watching music videos felt like a luxury to me”. “My life was all about survival”, he said, adding that he did everything from farm work to hauling shipments of cement to earn money to buy food for his family.But when he was 13, his mother, who had escaped North Korea and made it to the South, urged him to join her.He realised this could be his chance to escape starvation and hardship, but said he knew nothing about the other half of the Korean peninsula. “To me, the world was just North Korea — nothing beyond that,” he told AFP.His bandmate, Seok, also grew up in the North — but in contrast to Hyuk’s hardscrabble upbringing, he was raised in a relatively affluent family, living close to the border.As a result, even though K-pop and other South Korean content like K-dramas are banned in the North with harsh penalties for violators, Seok said “it was possible to buy and sell songs illegally through smugglers”.Thanks to his older sister, Seok was listening to K-pop and even watching rare videos of South Korean artists from a young age, he told AFP.”I remember wanting to imitate those cool expressions and styles — things like hairstyles and outfits,” Seok told AFP.Eventually, when he was 19, Seok defected to the South. Six years later, he is a spitting image of a K-Pop idol.- Star quality -Hyuk and Seok were recruited for 1Verse, a new boy band and the first signed to smaller Seoul-based label Singing Beetle by the company’s CEO Michelle Cho.Cho was introduced to both of the young defectors through friends.Hyuk was working at a factory when she met him, but when she heard raps he had written she told AFP that she “knew straight away that his was a natural talent”. Initially, he “professed a complete lack of confidence in his ability to rap”, Cho said, but she offered him free lessons and then invited him to the studio, which got him hooked.Eventually, “he decided to give music a chance”, she said, and became the agency’s first trainee.In contrast, Seok “had that self-belief and confidence from the very beginning”, she said, and lobbied hard to be taken on.When Seok learned that he would be training alongside another North Korean defector, he said it “gave me the courage to believe that maybe I could do it”.- ‘We’re almost there’ -The other members of 1Verse include a Chinese-American, a Lao-Thai American and a Japanese dancer. The five men in their 20s barely speak each other’s languages.But Hyuk, who has been studying English, says it doesn’t matter. “We’re also learning about each other’s cultures, trying to bridge the gaps and get closer little by little,” he said.”Surprisingly, we communicate really well. Our languages aren’t perfectly fluent, but we still understand each other. Sometimes, that feels almost unbelievable.”Aito, the Japanese trainee who is the main dancer in the group, said he was “fascinated” to meet his North Korean bandmates.”In Japan, when I watched the news, I often saw a lot of international issues about defectors, so the overall image isn’t very positive,” he said.But Aito told AFP his worries “all disappeared” when he met Hyuk and Seok. And now, the five performers are on the brink of their debut.It’s been a long road from North Korea to the cusp of K-pop stardom in the South for Hyuk and Seok — but they say they are determined to make 1Verse a success.”I really want to move someone with my voice. That feeling grows stronger every day,” said Seok.Hyuk said being part of a real band was a moving experience for him.”It really hit me, like wow, we’re almost there.”