Yonhap News Summary

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

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China moves to break stalemate in talks on N. Korean nuke
SEOUL -- China appears to finally be moving after months of international
pressure on it to step up efforts to broker a breakthrough in stalled
negotiations over North Korea's nuclear program.
Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei, who chairs the six-party talks on North Korean
denuclearization, is currently on a visit to Russia as the first leg of a
four-nation tour that will also take him to the United States, Japan, and South
Korea.
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N. Korean short-range missiles aimed at provoking S. Korea: spokesman
SEOUL -- The set of four short-range missiles North Korea test-fired off its east
coast earlier this week appear to be aimed at provoking South Korea, an official
here said Friday.
"We believe the firing was conducted with regard to the relations" between the
two Koreas, South Korean defense spokesman Won Tae-jae said. "Unless it is a
mid-range missile or a longer-range one, we believe it is aimed at South Korea."
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(LEAD) Watchdog set to toughen criteria for home-backed lending
SEOUL -- South Korea's financial watchdog plans to strengthen its monitoring of
home-backed loans and toughen lending criteria if the housing market shows signs
of jitters, its head said Friday.
In an effort to find revenue sources amid a protracted economic slump, local
banks have been scrambling to increase their mortgage lending this year, stoking
worries about an unusual surge in housing prices.
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S. Korea not yet mulling higher-level talks with N. Korea: ministry
SEOUL -- South Korea has no plan yet to push for higher-level meetings with North
Korea despite little progress in on-and-off working-level talks over the
operation of a joint industrial complex there, the Unification Ministry said
Friday.
The ministry was responding to growing doubts about the efficacy of the talks
between director-general-level officials from the two Koreas, whose latest round
was held on Thursday but produced no agreement. No date for a next round was set.
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(LEAD) Police raid teachers' union over anti-gov't campaign
SEOUL -- Police on Friday raided the office of a progressive teachers' union that
defied a government ban last month by releasing a statement highly critical of
policies enacted by the incumbent administration.
Tension has been escalating between the left-leaning Korean Teachers and
Education Workers' Union and the government over the union's statement issued on
June 18, which berated President Lee Myung-bak's competition-driven education
policies and called his governing style "authoritarian". The statement was signed
by about 17,000 teachers nationwide.
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S. Korea must continue fiscal expansion for recovery: gov't report
SEOUL -- South Korea needs to maintain its fiscal expansion to spur an economic
recovery as the economy remains sluggish despite improving indicators, a
government report said Friday.
"While financial markets are stabilizing and output, consumption and investment
are recovering, overall economic conditions still remain in a slump," the Finance
Ministry said in its monthly economy-assessment report.
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(Yonhap Feature) Twitter hype raises eyebrows in Korea's political circles
SEOUL -- The global hype surrounding Twitter, a U.S.-based on-line social
networking service, has caught on with a number of political heavyweights in
South Korea seeking to stay in sync with high-tech voters shaping political
discourse here.
Given its direct, unfiltered and real-time character distinct from other
networking services, jumping on the Twitter bandwagon is increasingly seen here
as an inevitable step in efforts to better reach out to the electorate.
(END)