Yonhap News Summary

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

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(LEAD) U.S. blacklists N. Korean firm for involvement in WMD proliferation
WASHINGTON -- The United States Thursday blacklisted a North Korean firm for its
involvement in the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, which were
banned by U.N. resolutions after North Korea's nuclear and missile tests.
"The U.S. Treasury Department today designated a North Korean entity, the Korea
Hyoksin Trading Corporation, under Executive Order 13382 for being owned or
controlled by a North Korean entity, the Korea Ryonbong General Corporation," the
department said in a statement.
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(LEAD) U.S. to have bilateral talks with N. Korea only in six-party context: State
Dept.
WASHINGTON -- The United States Thursday dismissed calls by North Korea to hold
bilateral talks to resolve the standoff over North Korea's nuclear and missile
programs, repeating that it will have bilateral negotiations only within in the
six-party framework.
"As you know, our approach on North Korea is we feel very strongly that we have
to engage North Korea multilaterally through the six-party mechanism," State
Department spokesman Ian Kelly said in a daily news briefing.
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(LEAD) No word from N. Korea yet about fate of seized S. Korean fishermen
SEOUL -- North Korea said Friday it does not yet have any information to give
concerning four South Korean fishermen being held after their boat strayed north
of the maritime border, Seoul officials said.
The 29-ton squid-fishing boat was towed by a North Korean patrol vessel to a port
on the country's east coast Thursday morning. The North later said a pertinent
organization was investigating the crew, as South Korea pressed for their
immediate release.
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(LEAD) Korean medical book listed as world documentary heritage
SEOUL -- A U.N. education and cultural body has designated a traditional Korean
medical encyclopedia on oriental medicine as a world documentary heritage,
officials said Friday.
The Cultural Heritage Administration said the U.N. Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO) added the "Donguibogam," or the "Principles and
Practice of Eastern Medicine," to its Memory of the World Register at the ninth
meeting of the International Advisory Committee held in Barbados.
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(LEAD) S. Korea hopes chopper will propel aerospace industry
SACHEON -- South Korea on Friday unveiled its first homegrown helicopter, hoping
it will propel the nation's budding aerospace industry and step in for an aging
military fleet.
Able to push 260km per hour and hover high above the nation's craggy terrain, the
first prototype of the Korean Utility Helicopter (KUH), also called the "Surion,"
was displayed at a ceremony in this southwestern city attended by senior
government officials, including President Lee Myung-bak.
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(LEAD) S-Oil reports 80.5 pct fall in Q2 earnings
SEOUL -- S-Oil Corp., South Korea's third-largest refiner, said Friday that its
net income fell 80.5 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier due to
decreased refining margins and routine plant maintenance.
Net profit came to 71 billion won (US$57.6 million) in the April-June period,
compared with 368.6 billion won a year ago, S-Oil said in a regulatory filing.
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S. Korea retrieves nearly 80 pct of foreign currency liquidity: finance ministry
SEOUL -- South Korea's government and the central bank have retrieved nearly 80
percent of foreign currency funds injected into the economy to ease a credit
crunch that began last summer as borrowing conditions seem to be improving, the
finance ministry said Friday.
The government and the Bank of Korea (BOK) have retrieved a combined 77.2
percent, or US$43.6 billion, of the total foreign currency liquidity it injected
into local markets since last September after the collapse of U.S. investment
giant Lehman Brothers sparked a global financial crisis, according to the
Ministry of Strategy and Finance.
(END)