ID :
78386
Fri, 09/04/2009 - 15:55
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/78386
The shortlink copeid
Yonhap News Summary
The following is the first summary of major stories moved by Yonhap News Agency on Friday.
-----------------
(3rd LD) N. Korea says it has reached final phase of uranium enrichment
SEOUL -- North Korea resumed provocative steps Friday after weeks of conciliatory
gestures, apparently growing impatient at the Obama administration's reluctance
to talk bilaterally with Pyongyang outside of the six-nation disarmament talks.
"Experimental uranium enrichment has successfully been conducted and entered into
the completion phase," the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA)
said. "Reprocessing of spent fuel rods is in its final phase and extracted
plutonium is being weaponized."
-----------------
(LEAD) new flu-brain death
SEOUL -- A female new flu patient in her 40s has been presumed brain dead, Seoul
officials said Friday, amid growing concerns that the H1N1 virus is spreading
fast in South Korea.
The woman, a resident of the Seoul metropolitan area, tested positive for the
virus on Monday after showing high fever and other respiratory problems,
according to the Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs.
-----------------
(LEAD) S. Korea scraps largest army festival over flu scare
SEOUL -- South Korea's Army said Friday it has canceled its largest public
relations exhibition scheduled for next month due to fears it may become a
conduit for the highly contagious type-A influenza.
"Army Festival" drew an estimated 1.3 million spectators last month, according to
the Army. The number of flu patients -- either treated or undergoing treatment --
in the military rose to over 1,300 as of Thursday, making up roughly a third of
the country's total tally.
-----------------
N. Korean navy breached tense sea border with S. Korea: official
SEOUL -- A North Korean patrol boat trespassed into South Korean waters earlier
this week, an official in Seoul said Friday, in the latest breach of the tense
Yellow Sea border between the two countries.
The boat stayed roughly six minutes before returning to the North Korean side of
the Northern Limit Line (NLL) around 1:50 a.m. Thursday morning, the defense
ministry official said.
-----------------
Construction of taekwondo park begins
MUJU -- Ground was broken here Friday for the world's first taekwondo park, which
the government hopes will become a mecca for the nearly 70 million practitioners
of the Korean martial art worldwide.
Hundreds of people from around the country and abroad came to this city in North
Jeolla Province, about 240km south of Seoul, to attend a ceremony marking the
event. Among them were Prime Minister Han Seung-soo and International Olympic
Committee members Moon Dae-sung and Phillip Walter Coles, of South Korea and
Australia, respectively.
-----------------
S. Korea's mortgage loans continue to grow fast
SEOUL -- South Korea's mortgage loans continued to rise at a fast pace in August,
the financial watchdog said Friday, stoking concerns the sharp increase could
destabilize the housing market.
Local financial firms extended 4.2 trillion won (US$3.37 billion) in home-backed
loans last month, bringing this year's total to 28.1 trillion won, according to
the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS),
-----------------
S. Korea rejects Ssangyong Motor's plea for tax benefits
SEOUL -- The South Korean government has rejected a plea by Ssangyong Motor Co.,
which has been under bankruptcy protection since February, to extend tax benefits
for new cars for the company, officials said Friday.
The government has cut 70 percent of purchasing and registration taxes for those
who buy a new car to replace their old one to spur auto demand. The measure are
effective from May to December.
-----------------
Koreas to normalize consultation office in Kaesong park next week
SEOUL -- South and North Korea have decided to normalize the operation of a joint
consultation office that oversees daily operations of their joint industrial park
run in the North, the government said Friday.
The North in December had unilaterally shut down the Inter-Korea Exchange &
Cooperation Consultation Office in the joint park at its border town of Kaesong
and restricted traffic in and out of the park to protest Seoul's hard-line policy
toward it.
(END)
-----------------
(3rd LD) N. Korea says it has reached final phase of uranium enrichment
SEOUL -- North Korea resumed provocative steps Friday after weeks of conciliatory
gestures, apparently growing impatient at the Obama administration's reluctance
to talk bilaterally with Pyongyang outside of the six-nation disarmament talks.
"Experimental uranium enrichment has successfully been conducted and entered into
the completion phase," the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA)
said. "Reprocessing of spent fuel rods is in its final phase and extracted
plutonium is being weaponized."
-----------------
(LEAD) new flu-brain death
SEOUL -- A female new flu patient in her 40s has been presumed brain dead, Seoul
officials said Friday, amid growing concerns that the H1N1 virus is spreading
fast in South Korea.
The woman, a resident of the Seoul metropolitan area, tested positive for the
virus on Monday after showing high fever and other respiratory problems,
according to the Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs.
-----------------
(LEAD) S. Korea scraps largest army festival over flu scare
SEOUL -- South Korea's Army said Friday it has canceled its largest public
relations exhibition scheduled for next month due to fears it may become a
conduit for the highly contagious type-A influenza.
"Army Festival" drew an estimated 1.3 million spectators last month, according to
the Army. The number of flu patients -- either treated or undergoing treatment --
in the military rose to over 1,300 as of Thursday, making up roughly a third of
the country's total tally.
-----------------
N. Korean navy breached tense sea border with S. Korea: official
SEOUL -- A North Korean patrol boat trespassed into South Korean waters earlier
this week, an official in Seoul said Friday, in the latest breach of the tense
Yellow Sea border between the two countries.
The boat stayed roughly six minutes before returning to the North Korean side of
the Northern Limit Line (NLL) around 1:50 a.m. Thursday morning, the defense
ministry official said.
-----------------
Construction of taekwondo park begins
MUJU -- Ground was broken here Friday for the world's first taekwondo park, which
the government hopes will become a mecca for the nearly 70 million practitioners
of the Korean martial art worldwide.
Hundreds of people from around the country and abroad came to this city in North
Jeolla Province, about 240km south of Seoul, to attend a ceremony marking the
event. Among them were Prime Minister Han Seung-soo and International Olympic
Committee members Moon Dae-sung and Phillip Walter Coles, of South Korea and
Australia, respectively.
-----------------
S. Korea's mortgage loans continue to grow fast
SEOUL -- South Korea's mortgage loans continued to rise at a fast pace in August,
the financial watchdog said Friday, stoking concerns the sharp increase could
destabilize the housing market.
Local financial firms extended 4.2 trillion won (US$3.37 billion) in home-backed
loans last month, bringing this year's total to 28.1 trillion won, according to
the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS),
-----------------
S. Korea rejects Ssangyong Motor's plea for tax benefits
SEOUL -- The South Korean government has rejected a plea by Ssangyong Motor Co.,
which has been under bankruptcy protection since February, to extend tax benefits
for new cars for the company, officials said Friday.
The government has cut 70 percent of purchasing and registration taxes for those
who buy a new car to replace their old one to spur auto demand. The measure are
effective from May to December.
-----------------
Koreas to normalize consultation office in Kaesong park next week
SEOUL -- South and North Korea have decided to normalize the operation of a joint
consultation office that oversees daily operations of their joint industrial park
run in the North, the government said Friday.
The North in December had unilaterally shut down the Inter-Korea Exchange &
Cooperation Consultation Office in the joint park at its border town of Kaesong
and restricted traffic in and out of the park to protest Seoul's hard-line policy
toward it.
(END)
