ID :
59130
Wed, 05/06/2009 - 11:41
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/59130
The shortlink copeid
Yonhap News Summary
Yonhap News Summary
The following is the first summary of major stories moved by Yonhap News Agency
on Wednesday.
-----------------
Bosworth embarks on Asian tour on resumption of 6-way talks: State Dept.
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Bosworth is set
to fly to Seoul later this week to discuss resumption of the six-party talks,
moribund in the wake of North Korea's rocket launch.
"An interagency delegation will travel to Beijing, Seoul, Tokyo and Moscow for
consultations with counterparts from China, the Republic of Korea, Japan and
Russia on North Korea issues," State Department spokesman Robert Wood said. The
delegation will be led by Bosworth.
-----------------
(LEAD) North Korea blasts increase in U.S. defense budget
SEOUL -- North Korea on Wednesday criticized the U.S. government for raising its
military budget for 2010, claiming Pentagon's huge spending prompts Pyongyang to
bolster its own defense force.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates recently announced Washington will increase
its defense budget by 4 percent on-year to US$534 billion for the next fiscal
year that starts in October.
-----------------
S. Korea unveils plans to reconstruct Afghanistan
SEOUL -- South Korea will begin building a hospital and a vocational training
center in Afghanistan next month and increase the number of workers there
starting in 2010 as part of a plan to expand aid to the war-ravaged nation,
officials said Wednesday.
Under the plan approved by the Cabinet earlier in the day, South Korea will spend
US$195 million to build the 30-bed hospital and the vocational training facility
at the U.S. Air Force Base in Bagram, about 80km north of Kabul, by the end of
this year, they added.
-----------------
N. Korean leader inspects military university
SEOUL -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il inspected a military university, where
he underscored the use of visual aids for "practical education," state media said
Wednesday.
Kim, 67, has more than doubled his public activities this year after recuperating
from a stroke he reportedly suffered last summer. The latest trip was his 60th,
compared to 24 field trips he made during the same period last year.
-----------------
S. Korea to participate in multinational drill in Thailand
SEOUL -- South Korea will send 300 troops to Thailand next year for its first
full-scale participation in an annual U.S.-led drill, officials said Wednesday.
About 180 Marines and 120 Navy soldiers will participate in the six-week "Cobra
Gold" exercise, the officials at the Ministry of National Defense said. The
country also plans to deploy an amphibious vessel and several armored landing
vehicles.
-----------------
Local banks' foreign currency liquidity conditions improve
SEOUL -- South Korean banks' foreign currency liquidity conditions improved this
year due to the government's dollar supply and the country's rising trade
surplus, the country's financial watchdog said Wednesday.
The foreign currency liquidity ratio of 18 local commercial and state banks came
in at 106 percent as of the end of February, up 7.1 percentage points from the
end of last year, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).
(END)
The following is the first summary of major stories moved by Yonhap News Agency
on Wednesday.
-----------------
Bosworth embarks on Asian tour on resumption of 6-way talks: State Dept.
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Bosworth is set
to fly to Seoul later this week to discuss resumption of the six-party talks,
moribund in the wake of North Korea's rocket launch.
"An interagency delegation will travel to Beijing, Seoul, Tokyo and Moscow for
consultations with counterparts from China, the Republic of Korea, Japan and
Russia on North Korea issues," State Department spokesman Robert Wood said. The
delegation will be led by Bosworth.
-----------------
(LEAD) North Korea blasts increase in U.S. defense budget
SEOUL -- North Korea on Wednesday criticized the U.S. government for raising its
military budget for 2010, claiming Pentagon's huge spending prompts Pyongyang to
bolster its own defense force.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates recently announced Washington will increase
its defense budget by 4 percent on-year to US$534 billion for the next fiscal
year that starts in October.
-----------------
S. Korea unveils plans to reconstruct Afghanistan
SEOUL -- South Korea will begin building a hospital and a vocational training
center in Afghanistan next month and increase the number of workers there
starting in 2010 as part of a plan to expand aid to the war-ravaged nation,
officials said Wednesday.
Under the plan approved by the Cabinet earlier in the day, South Korea will spend
US$195 million to build the 30-bed hospital and the vocational training facility
at the U.S. Air Force Base in Bagram, about 80km north of Kabul, by the end of
this year, they added.
-----------------
N. Korean leader inspects military university
SEOUL -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il inspected a military university, where
he underscored the use of visual aids for "practical education," state media said
Wednesday.
Kim, 67, has more than doubled his public activities this year after recuperating
from a stroke he reportedly suffered last summer. The latest trip was his 60th,
compared to 24 field trips he made during the same period last year.
-----------------
S. Korea to participate in multinational drill in Thailand
SEOUL -- South Korea will send 300 troops to Thailand next year for its first
full-scale participation in an annual U.S.-led drill, officials said Wednesday.
About 180 Marines and 120 Navy soldiers will participate in the six-week "Cobra
Gold" exercise, the officials at the Ministry of National Defense said. The
country also plans to deploy an amphibious vessel and several armored landing
vehicles.
-----------------
Local banks' foreign currency liquidity conditions improve
SEOUL -- South Korean banks' foreign currency liquidity conditions improved this
year due to the government's dollar supply and the country's rising trade
surplus, the country's financial watchdog said Wednesday.
The foreign currency liquidity ratio of 18 local commercial and state banks came
in at 106 percent as of the end of February, up 7.1 percentage points from the
end of last year, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).
(END)
