(ATTN: RECASTS lead; ADDS details, background in paras 5-6)
By Sam Kim
SEOUL, April 16 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's defense minister signed a deal Thursday

SEOUL, April 16 (Yonhap) -- North Korea released photos of all members of its top
military board newly elected last week through the latest issue of its party

SEOUL, April 16 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks ended up 0.27 percent Thursday as
foreign investors turned strong buyers on overnight U.S. market advances,

ANSAN, South Korea, April 16 (Yonhap) -- A civil court Thursday ordered an
alleged serial murderer to pay a combined 1.3 billion won (US$980,000) to the

SEOUL, April 16 (Yonhap) -- LG Display Co., the world's second-largest maker of
liquid-crystal displays, said Thursday it swung to a net loss in the first

By Lee Chi-dong
SEOUL, April 16 (Yonhap) -- South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan was to
leave for Tokyo Thursday to meet his Japanese counterpart and attend an

SEOUL, April 16 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's state-run Industrial Bank of Korea
(IBK) said Thursday it plans to raise US$1 billion throught the sale of foreign

SEOUL, April 16 (Yonhap) -- Hana Financial Group Inc., South Korea's No. 4
financial services company, said Thursday it will seek to spin off the card

By Sam Kim
SEOUL, April 16 (Yonhap) -- South Korea on Thursday agreed to purchase 130
billion won (US$97 million) worth of air force pilot training equipment from

SEOUL, April 16 (Yonhap) -- Nearly half of South Korea's major firms predict the
current credit squeeze will begin to abate in the first half of next year,