ID :
18818
Wed, 09/10/2008 - 16:10
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/18818
The shortlink copeid
Yonhap News Summary
The following is the second summary of major stories moved by Yonhap News Agency on Wednesday.
(ROUNDUP) Seoul keen to confirm reports of North Korean leader's illness
SEOUL -- South Korea was put on maximum alert Wednesday, as its government
agencies struggled to confirm a spate of intelligence and wire reports indicating
that North Korean leader Kim Jong-il may be seriously ill.
The presidential office Cheong Wa Dae and the Unification Ministry said
officially that nothing has been confirmed regarding the health of the reclusive
North Korean leader, though an unidentified U.S. intelligence official was quoted
as telling the Associated Press that Kim may have suffered a stroke in the past
month.
-----------------
S. Korean minister cautious about reports of N. Korean leader's illness
SEOUL -- South Korea's point man on North Korea was publicly guarded Wednesday
about reports of a deterioration in the health of the communist nation's
reclusive leader Kim Jong-il.
"Nothing has been confirmed accurately except that (Kim) was absent from the
Sept. 9 event," Unification Minister Kim Ha-joong said at a National
Assembly committee.
-----------------
N. Korea found to have cancelled talks with S. Korea in August
SEOUL -- North Korea proposed a meeting with Seoul officials last month to
discuss energy assistance agreed under a multilateral nuclear deal but Pyongyang
abruptly called it off, a South Korean negotiator said Wednesday.
"North Korea asked us to set a schedule for the talks and we gave a date.
And then, the North suddenly cancelled them without clarifying a reason,"
said a senior South Korean Foreign Ministry official serving as the country's
delegate to the six-way talks on the North's denuclearization.
-----------------
KDB says it has ended talks with Lehman Brother for possible investment
SEOUL -- South Korea's state-run Korea Development Bank said Wednesday it has
ended talks with Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. for a possible investment in the
subprime-battered U.S. bank.
"There are disagreements over transaction conditions with Lehman at this
point and considering financial market situations at home and abroad, the lender
has ended the negotiations with Lehman," the lender said in a statement.
-----------------
(News Focus) Oil price drop may help stabilize Korean economy
SEOUL -- The drop in crude oil prices below the US$100-per-barrel mark is
expected to help stabilize a South Korean economy plagued by inflationary
pressure, experts said Wednesday.
Economists and government officials said the drop in oil prices could help bring
down consumer prices, which rose to 5.6 percent in August from an average gain of
2.5 percent in 2007.
-----------------
N. Korean spy suspect admits guilt
SUWON, South Korea -- A suspected female North Korean agent who allegedly came to
the South disguised as a defector pleaded guilty Wednesday to spying for
Pyongyang.
Won Jeong-hwa, 35, admitted in court before Suwon District Court Judge Shin
Yong-suk to having collected information on South Korea's key military
installations and passing it on to North Korean agents in China.
-----------------
S. Korea's global biz-friendly ranking jumps to 23rd: World Bank report
SEOUL -- South Korea's global corporate-friendly ranking jumped seven notches
this year on improvements in tax and credit procedures, an international business
report showed Wednesday.
The World Bank's annual "Doing Business 2009" report placed South Korea
at 23rd among 181 countries in overall business environment. South Korea ranked
30th one year ago.
(END)
(ROUNDUP) Seoul keen to confirm reports of North Korean leader's illness
SEOUL -- South Korea was put on maximum alert Wednesday, as its government
agencies struggled to confirm a spate of intelligence and wire reports indicating
that North Korean leader Kim Jong-il may be seriously ill.
The presidential office Cheong Wa Dae and the Unification Ministry said
officially that nothing has been confirmed regarding the health of the reclusive
North Korean leader, though an unidentified U.S. intelligence official was quoted
as telling the Associated Press that Kim may have suffered a stroke in the past
month.
-----------------
S. Korean minister cautious about reports of N. Korean leader's illness
SEOUL -- South Korea's point man on North Korea was publicly guarded Wednesday
about reports of a deterioration in the health of the communist nation's
reclusive leader Kim Jong-il.
"Nothing has been confirmed accurately except that (Kim) was absent from the
Sept. 9 event," Unification Minister Kim Ha-joong said at a National
Assembly committee.
-----------------
N. Korea found to have cancelled talks with S. Korea in August
SEOUL -- North Korea proposed a meeting with Seoul officials last month to
discuss energy assistance agreed under a multilateral nuclear deal but Pyongyang
abruptly called it off, a South Korean negotiator said Wednesday.
"North Korea asked us to set a schedule for the talks and we gave a date.
And then, the North suddenly cancelled them without clarifying a reason,"
said a senior South Korean Foreign Ministry official serving as the country's
delegate to the six-way talks on the North's denuclearization.
-----------------
KDB says it has ended talks with Lehman Brother for possible investment
SEOUL -- South Korea's state-run Korea Development Bank said Wednesday it has
ended talks with Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. for a possible investment in the
subprime-battered U.S. bank.
"There are disagreements over transaction conditions with Lehman at this
point and considering financial market situations at home and abroad, the lender
has ended the negotiations with Lehman," the lender said in a statement.
-----------------
(News Focus) Oil price drop may help stabilize Korean economy
SEOUL -- The drop in crude oil prices below the US$100-per-barrel mark is
expected to help stabilize a South Korean economy plagued by inflationary
pressure, experts said Wednesday.
Economists and government officials said the drop in oil prices could help bring
down consumer prices, which rose to 5.6 percent in August from an average gain of
2.5 percent in 2007.
-----------------
N. Korean spy suspect admits guilt
SUWON, South Korea -- A suspected female North Korean agent who allegedly came to
the South disguised as a defector pleaded guilty Wednesday to spying for
Pyongyang.
Won Jeong-hwa, 35, admitted in court before Suwon District Court Judge Shin
Yong-suk to having collected information on South Korea's key military
installations and passing it on to North Korean agents in China.
-----------------
S. Korea's global biz-friendly ranking jumps to 23rd: World Bank report
SEOUL -- South Korea's global corporate-friendly ranking jumped seven notches
this year on improvements in tax and credit procedures, an international business
report showed Wednesday.
The World Bank's annual "Doing Business 2009" report placed South Korea
at 23rd among 181 countries in overall business environment. South Korea ranked
30th one year ago.
(END)
