Taiwan is pitching deeper tech cooperation with South Korea, a positive signal for both countries' chip and AI industries.

• Taiwan's representative office in Busan held its national day reception, with office head Kuo Cheng-kai calling the two economies highly complementary in AI and semiconductors.
• Trade between Taiwan and South Korea has jumped sharply this year, with high-bandwidth memory chips making up almost all of South Korea's surplus with Taiwan.
• The pitch leans on Taiwan's position as an indispensable supplier in chips and AI, and on its democratic record at a time of rising authoritarian pressure.
• Busan and Kaohsiung are marking 60 years as sister cities, and more than 600,000 Taiwanese travellers visited Busan in the first seven months of the year.

Outlook: Expect Taipei to keep pushing for closer AI and chip supply chain links with Seoul, with memory and advanced chips the main meeting point.