Yonhap News Summary

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

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(2nd LD) U.S. ready to intercept N. Korean missile flying to U.S.: Gates
WASHINGTON -- The United States is ready to intercept any North Korean ballistic
missiles coming toward Hawaii or any other part of the U.S., Secretary of Defense
Robert Gates said Thursday.
"I've directed the deployment again of THAAD missiles to Hawaii," Gates told a
Pentagon press briefing. "And the SBX Radar has deployed, away from Hawaii, to
provide support. Based on my visit to Fort Greely (Alaska), the ground-based
interceptors are clearly in a position to take action."
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(3rd LD) Koreas end morning session in talks over joint venture park
SEOUL -- South Korea pressed for the release of a detained worker and North Korea
demanded hikes in wages and rent, a Seoul official said, as the future of their
joint business park faced a critical juncture amid growing tensions between
Pyongyang and the outside world.
The talks come after South Korean President Lee Myung-bak vowed a stern response
to Pyongyang's provocative behavior in a summit with U.S. President Barack Obama
earlier this week.
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U.S. warns of N. Korea relying on cash transactions to avoid financial sanctions
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Treasury Department Thursday advised financial
institutions to take precautions against North Korea trying to do cash
transactions to circumvent financial sanctions under a U.N. resolution adopted
after the North's nuclear test last month.
"Treasury is concerned that, in an attempt to evade U.N. Security Council
Resolution provisions, North Korea may increasingly rely on cash transactions,"
the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) of the department said in an
advisory. "All financial institutions should remain vigilant regarding attempts
by North Korean customers to make large cash deposits into new or existing
accounts, as well as the associated risk of the passing of counterfeit currency."
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KB Financial eyes purchase of non-banking firms after Q3
SEOUL -- KB Financial Group Inc., South Korea's No. 3 financial services company,
said Friday it will seek to buy non-banking businesses after the third quarter if
the economic crisis shows signs of waning.
"We are considering raising about 2 trillion won (US$1.58 billion) in capital. If
the economy picks up, the group plans to acquire a brokerage house or an insurer
to beef up our non-banking operations," Hwang Young-key, president of KB
Financial, told reporters.
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S. Korea vies to be world's leader in robots
SEOUL -- Four-year old Hubo can jog at clip of about 3.6 km per hour, compared to
an average adult who manages somewhere between 7 to 10 km per hour. He returns
handshakes with a firm grip and, unlike others of his kind, can keep up with the
best at rock-paper-scissors, his fingers fully mobile.
South Korea's first two-legged walking robot, Hubo is one of many achievements
that have distinguished the country's robotics industry. His name a condensed
form of the term "humanoid robot," Hubo was recently adopted by the U.S. National
Science Foundation as a "textbook" model of such technology.
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