※[Global Morning Briefing] summarizes global news delivered by Seoul Economic Daily.
AWS Emerges as Key Partner in US Government's 'Genesis Mission'
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is expanding its business into nuclear power and defense industries by participating as a key partner in the Trump administration's national artificial intelligence (AI) project, the 'Genesis Mission.' As President Trump demanded cutting-edge infrastructure and security capabilities to win the AI supremacy competition with China, AWS positioned itself as an ally by providing a government-dedicated cloud (GovCloud).
Dave Levy, AWS Vice President of Worldwide Public Sector, said at the '2026 AWS Summit' held in Washington, D.C. on June 30, "As the sole cloud provider for the Genesis Mission, we will supply the highest level of security infrastructure," adding, "We will provide up to $100 million (about 155.5 billion won) in credits to research groups." Launched last November, the Genesis Mission is a public-private joint project that integrates US supercomputing resources into a cloud-based AI ecosystem, with AWS taking on the role of providing core infrastructure.
Chris Wright, Secretary of Energy, unveiled a plan to train AI on data held by national laboratories in fields such as nuclear physics, fusion energy, and materials engineering, and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announced it would store its first work materials in the AWS cloud.
AWS unveiled a framework to support intelligence agencies' cloud transition, providing up to $1 billion (about 1.55 trillion won) in credits, and decided to invest up to $50 billion (about 77.79 trillion won) in expanding government AI infrastructure.
AWS also opened the same classified cloud used by the Department of Defense to defense companies, securing Northrop Grumman as its first client, and is expanding its business into nuclear power and new drug development, including jointly developing a small modular reactor digital twin with Idaho National Laboratory, while also seeking to expand overseas exports to the UK and Singapore.
Xi Jinping: "Resolutely Strike Taiwan Independence Forces"…Reaffirms Unification Will at 105th Party Anniversary
Chinese President Xi Jinping reaffirmed his will for unification, forecasting a resolute strike against Taiwan independence forces at the ceremony marking the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party. It was a warning aimed simultaneously at Japan and the United States, with whom tensions have escalated over the Taiwan issue.
In a speech at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Monday, Xi stressed, "We must oppose interference from external forces and firmly advance the great cause of national unification." He defined resolving the Taiwan issue and achieving complete unification as the party's historic mission, and stated that the 'One China' principle and the 1992 Consensus must be upheld. He also put forward the 'strong military ideology' of enhancing the People's Liberation Army's capabilities under the party's absolute leadership, emphasizing that he would push forward national defense and military modernization to a high level in line with the 100th anniversary of the military's founding next August.
These remarks are interpreted as an extension of China's continued economic and industrial retaliation since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi mentioned the possibility of Japan's intervention in a Taiwan contingency last November. Indeed, late last month, China added 40 new Japanese institutions and companies to its list of export restrictions on dual-use items such as rare earths.
In addition, during US President Donald Trump's visit to Beijing last May, Xi is reported to have directly asked whether the US would provide military support in the event of a Chinese attack on Taiwan, repeatedly pressing that Taiwan is a core interest of China. The joint statement expressing 'support for One China,' issued by Xi and North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un during Xi's visit to Pyongyang last month, is interpreted in the same context. However, the tone of this speech is assessed as somewhat softened compared to the hardline remarks at the 2021 party anniversary, analyzed as a result of prioritizing internal party unity, including economic recovery.
One Year After Nippon Steel's US Steel Acquisition…Only 1.8% Invested, Debt Ratio Surges
A year has passed since Nippon Steel acquired US Steel, but the large-scale investment it promised has stalled while only the debt ratio has soared.
According to Axios on June 30, Nippon Steel said it would invest $11 billion (about 17 trillion won) by 2028 when it acquired US Steel on June 18 last year, but the amount actually executed by the end of March this year came to less than $200 million (about 311 billion won), or 1.8% of the total. The investment approved after the acquisition is $3.2 billion (about 5 trillion won), but the pace of execution is slow.
Nippon Steel said it would execute an additional $580 million (about 900 billion won) by the end of August, but even reflecting this, the execution ratio against the total committed amount remains at around 7%. Axios reported that the distribution plan for the remaining $7.8 billion (about 12.14 trillion won) has not yet been disclosed.
The acquisition funding burden of $14.1 billion (about 22 trillion won) is also a financial pressure factor. Nippon Steel's interest-bearing debt ratio surged from 0.51 times before the acquisition to 0.94 times after. Accordingly, S&P Global lowered Nippon Steel's credit rating from 'BBB+' to 'BBB' last July and set its rating outlook as 'negative,' analyzing that the weakening of the financial structure would offset the effect of North American market expansion. As a result of this fallout, Nippon Steel's stock price fell to 531 yen (about 5,079 won) on June 11, recording its lowest level since April 2025.
However, US Steel's earnings are stabilizing. Net profit this year is expected to exceed $600 million (about 933.3 billion won), projected to be the best level since 2023. Nevertheless, Hiroyuki Suzuki, an analyst at Tachibana Securities, predicted that the contribution to final net profit would remain at 50 billion to 60 billion yen (about 478.1 billion to 573.6 billion won), as the aging of facilities could increase the burden of manufacturing costs.
US Government Fully Lifts Anthropic Export Restrictions…"Possibility of Renewed Control Remains"
The US government has fully lifted export restrictions imposed on the domestic AI company Anthropic, citing national security threats. Access to the latest model Mithos 5 and the general-purpose version Fable 5 has resumed, and the situation has been temporarily resolved, but concerns remain that the government could resume control at any time.
On June 30, Anthropic said via X (formerly Twitter) that it had received notice from the Department of Commerce lifting export controls on Fable 5 and Mithos 5. Earlier, the US government imposed export controls on the 12th of last month, taking issue with the possibility of a so-called 'jailbreak' bypassing Fable 5's safeguards. This was the first case in which the US government applied export controls to its own AI model, causing controversy, but the situation was concluded as the regulation was lifted after about 18 days.
Anthropic is reported to have introduced additional safeguards to address the government's concerns. According to the Financial Times (FT), the company said it had applied new protective devices to block the bypass technique that had been the issue, and was also expanding its cooperation with the government on safety verification.
However, some analyses suggest that the control is not entirely over. According to Reuters, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in a letter to Anthropic, "We reserve the right to reconsider the decision and reimpose license requirements if the situation changes or commitments are not fulfilled." Some raised concerns that the timing of the regulation's lifting coincided with the rapid rise of China's open-source AI models, and that the regulatory period bought China time to catch up.
Meanwhile, Anthropic unveiled 'Claude Science,' an AI dedicated to scientists, moving to expand its enterprise AI business, including protein structure analysis and new drug development.
Michael Burry: "Korean Semiconductor Investment Signals Peak of AI Rally"
Hedge fund investor Michael Burry disclosed short positions on major semiconductor stocks such as Nvidia, warning that the collapse of the AI market bubble is imminent. He drew attention by interpreting Samsung Electronics and SK hynix's large-scale semiconductor investment plans as a peak signal of the AI rally.
According to CNBC on June 30, Burry said in a Substack post sent to investors, "I have shorted Nvidia, Applied Materials, Tesla, the iShares Semiconductor ETF, and Caterpillar." Pointing to the large-scale investment plans of Korean memory companies announced the previous day as a peak signal of the AI investment cycle, he said, "The direct trigger for today's rally is Korea's large-scale investment plan, but
