Yonhap News Summary

The following is the first summary of major stories moved by Yonhap News Agency
on Friday.

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(LEAD) N. Korea blasts Obama, vows to bolster nuclear force
SEOUL -- North Korea blasted the Barack Obama administration for being "hostile"
toward it and vowed to bolster its nuclear deterrent, as a U.S. envoy on
Pyongyang was due in Seoul on Friday.
"The study of the policy pursued by the Obama administration for the past 100
days since its emergence made it clear that the U.S. hostile policy toward the
DPRK remains unchanged," the country's foreign ministry spokesman told the
official Korean Central News Agency.
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(LEAD) U.S. envoy due in Seoul for talks on reviving nuclear talks
SEOUL -- Stephen Bosworth, U.S. special representative for North Korea policy,
was to arrive in Seoul on Friday afternoon for discussions on ways to reactivate
stalled denuclearization talks, officials said.
In Beijing, the first stop in his nine-day tour of Northeast Asia and Russia,
Bosworth reaffirmed that Washington is willing to engage in both multilateral and
bilateral talks with Pyongyang to break the stalemate.
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Clinton says no plans to go to Pyongyang, urges N. Korea to return to 6-way talks
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday she has no
immediate plans to visit North Korea to revive the multinational nuclear talks,
stalled over the international condemnation of the North's April 5 rocket launch.
"I have no plans of going to North Korea," Clinton told reporters at a joint
press availability with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. "We will be
sending our special envoy, Ambassador
Bosworth, out to the region to discuss our next steps."
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(LEAD) Lawmakers optimistic on KORUS FTA ratification
WASHINGTON -- Despite growing protectionism amid the worst recession in decades,
a pending free trade agreement with South Korea could be ratified this summer if
both sides make concessions, key members of Congress predicted Thursday.
"I think we can address through a separate agreement the problems we have," Rep.
Diane Watson (D-California) told a forum here sponsored by the Korea Economic
Institute. Watson, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Asia Subcommittee,
described the Korea FTA as a "priority issue" that should be resolved "no later
than in the summer."
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S. Korean think tanks concerned about excess liquidity
SEOUL -- South Korean think tanks expressed concerns on Friday that excess
liquidity may negatively affect the local economy once it makes a full recovery.
Inflationary pressures down the road, caused by an increase in liquidity in the
market, could hammer the economy, experts from public and private economic
research institutes said in a seminar here.
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Kia's Soul beats Toyota's Scion xB in U.S. sales
SEOUL -- The Soul hatchback of Kia Motors Corp. surpassed its rival model Scion
xB of Toyota Motor Corp. in April sales in the United States, according to Kia's
company figures Friday.
Kia, an affiliate of Hyundai Motor Co., sold 3,228 units of the Soul in the U.S.
last month, while Toyota sold 2,036 units of the Scion xB there for the same
period.
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