SEOUL, Jan. 8 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's petrochemical producers are expected to
undergo tough times this year due to slumping exports and slowing global demand,

SEOUL, Jan. 8 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks dropped 1.91 percent late Thursday
morning as investor sentiment was hurt by overnight U.S. losses, analysts said.

SEOUL, Jan. 8 (Yonhap) -- "Treeless Mountain," a South Korean movie about two
orphaned sisters taken in by an alcoholic aunt, has been invited to compete in

By Byun Duk-kun
SEOUL, Jan. 8 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak Thursday called
for increased corporate investment in research and development, saying the

By Lee Joon-seung
SEOUL, Jan. 8 (Yonhap) -- South Korean companies secured record-high industrial
plant orders from overseas in 2008 thanks to strong demand from oil-rich

SEOUL, Jan. 8 (Yonhap) -- The Korea Interbank Offered Rates (KORIBOR) as posted
by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news and information arm of Yonhap News Agency,
at 11:00 a.m.

(ATTN: UPDATES with additional remarks, more details)
By Byun Duk-kun
SEOUL, Jan. 8 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said on Thursday

*** CHRONOLOGICAL REVIEW

SEOUL (Yonhap) -- The following is a chronological review of major developments
related to North Korea from Dec.25, 2008-Jan.7, 2009.

*** DATA ON NORTH KOREA

Gist of Joint New Year Editorial:
Glorify This Year As a Year of a New Revolutionary Upsurge Sounding the General
Advance (KCNA/ January 1, 2009)

*** OPINION FROM EXPERTS

NORTH KOREA'S SOUTH KOREA POLICY: EVALUATION AND PROSPECTS

By Jinwook Choi
Senior Fellow, Korea Institute for National Unification, Seoul, Korea