ID :
36139
Wed, 12/17/2008 - 17:15
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/36139
The shortlink copeid
Yonhap News Summary
The following is the summary of major stories moved by Yonhap News Agency on
Wednesday.
-----------------
N. Korea says it will not sign verification regime now: Hill
WASHINGTON -- North Korea has said that it will sign an agreement on a
verification protocol for its nuclear facilities but not now, the chief U.S.
nuclear envoy said Tuesday.
"North Koreans have never said they cannot agree to what is in the written
instrument or what was (made) in oral assurances, but they don't want to do the
verification protocol now, whether because they are waiting for the next
administration, or whether just because they don't want to do it now, or whether
they should do it in phase three," Christopher Hill told a forum at the Asia
Society here.
-----------------
Report calls for closer int'l cooperation to check N. Korean nuke proliferation
WASHINGTON -- A U.S. congressional report Tuesday called for closer cooperation
among nuclear powers and the international nuclear watchdog agency, saying the
nuclear armament of North Korea and Iran will lead to dangerous proliferation.
"It appears that we are at a tipping point in proliferation," said the report
from the Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States.
"If Iran and North Korea proceed unchecked to build nuclear arsenals, there is a
serious possibility of a cascade of proliferation following."
-----------------
(2nd LD) N.K. official inspects Kaesong complex amid chilly ties
SEOUL -- A senior North Korean defense official inspected the joint industrial
complex in the North's border town Kaesong on Wednesday, Seoul officials said,
amid speculation that Pyongyang may further curtail inter-Korean business
exchanges amid chilled ties.
Lt. General Kim Yong-chol of the North's National Defense Commission visited
South Korean businessmen operating in Kaesong and inspected their plants, said
Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Ho-nyoun.
-----------------
N. Korea needs US$346 million in food aid for 2009: WFP
SEOUL -- North Korea needs urgent food aid worth US$346 million to help millions
of people get through the new year, the World Food Program said on Wednesday in
an appeal for worldwide donations.
The U.N. food agency said in a report that the requested donation is necessary to
help feed 5.6 million North Koreans, nearly a quarter of the country's
population, who need outside assistance next year.
-----------------
(LEAD) S. Korean stocks end higher on Fed's record rate cut
SEOUL -- South Korean stocks ended higher Wednesday as investors scooped up
financial shares following the U.S. Federal Reserve's historic interest rate cut,
analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.
Paring steep gains in early session trading, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock
Price Index (KOSPI) added 8.19 points, or 0.71 percent, to close at 1,169.75.
Volume was heavy at 638.44 million shares worth 6.48 trillion won (US$4.89
billion), with gainers outpacing losers 444 to 410.
-----------------
BOK under pressure to take more action after U.S. rate cut
SEOUL -- The U.S. Federal Reserve's decision to slash the key rate to near zero
is widely expected to exert more pressure on South Korea's central bank to
continue its monetary easing, analysts said Wednesday.
In a surprise move, the Fed slashed the federal funds rate Tuesday to a range of
zero to 0.25 percent from one percent, marking the lowest level since it first
began to target the rate.
-----------------
S. Korea to speed up development of advanced nuclear reactor
SEOUL -- South Korea will speed up the development of an advanced indigenous
nuclear reactor that can enhance the country's ability to compete in the
international market, the government said Wednesday.
The Ministry of Knowledge Economy said the development of the Advanced Power
Reactor (APR) will be completed by 2012, three years ahead of the original
schedule. The reactor has greater power output than current models in use along
with enhanced safety features and could start commercial operation in 2022.
-----------------
Apple's iPod reported to have exploded
SEOUL -- A user of Apple's portable media player the iPod has claimed that his
device exploded owing to a battery problem, South Korean media reported
Wednesday.
The user claimed in a posting on an Internet community site
(http://clien.career.co.kr) that his iPod nano, one of the highest-selling
digital audio players in history, exploded, supplying a photo of the player which
shows the device with a melted center.
(END)
Wednesday.
-----------------
N. Korea says it will not sign verification regime now: Hill
WASHINGTON -- North Korea has said that it will sign an agreement on a
verification protocol for its nuclear facilities but not now, the chief U.S.
nuclear envoy said Tuesday.
"North Koreans have never said they cannot agree to what is in the written
instrument or what was (made) in oral assurances, but they don't want to do the
verification protocol now, whether because they are waiting for the next
administration, or whether just because they don't want to do it now, or whether
they should do it in phase three," Christopher Hill told a forum at the Asia
Society here.
-----------------
Report calls for closer int'l cooperation to check N. Korean nuke proliferation
WASHINGTON -- A U.S. congressional report Tuesday called for closer cooperation
among nuclear powers and the international nuclear watchdog agency, saying the
nuclear armament of North Korea and Iran will lead to dangerous proliferation.
"It appears that we are at a tipping point in proliferation," said the report
from the Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States.
"If Iran and North Korea proceed unchecked to build nuclear arsenals, there is a
serious possibility of a cascade of proliferation following."
-----------------
(2nd LD) N.K. official inspects Kaesong complex amid chilly ties
SEOUL -- A senior North Korean defense official inspected the joint industrial
complex in the North's border town Kaesong on Wednesday, Seoul officials said,
amid speculation that Pyongyang may further curtail inter-Korean business
exchanges amid chilled ties.
Lt. General Kim Yong-chol of the North's National Defense Commission visited
South Korean businessmen operating in Kaesong and inspected their plants, said
Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Ho-nyoun.
-----------------
N. Korea needs US$346 million in food aid for 2009: WFP
SEOUL -- North Korea needs urgent food aid worth US$346 million to help millions
of people get through the new year, the World Food Program said on Wednesday in
an appeal for worldwide donations.
The U.N. food agency said in a report that the requested donation is necessary to
help feed 5.6 million North Koreans, nearly a quarter of the country's
population, who need outside assistance next year.
-----------------
(LEAD) S. Korean stocks end higher on Fed's record rate cut
SEOUL -- South Korean stocks ended higher Wednesday as investors scooped up
financial shares following the U.S. Federal Reserve's historic interest rate cut,
analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.
Paring steep gains in early session trading, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock
Price Index (KOSPI) added 8.19 points, or 0.71 percent, to close at 1,169.75.
Volume was heavy at 638.44 million shares worth 6.48 trillion won (US$4.89
billion), with gainers outpacing losers 444 to 410.
-----------------
BOK under pressure to take more action after U.S. rate cut
SEOUL -- The U.S. Federal Reserve's decision to slash the key rate to near zero
is widely expected to exert more pressure on South Korea's central bank to
continue its monetary easing, analysts said Wednesday.
In a surprise move, the Fed slashed the federal funds rate Tuesday to a range of
zero to 0.25 percent from one percent, marking the lowest level since it first
began to target the rate.
-----------------
S. Korea to speed up development of advanced nuclear reactor
SEOUL -- South Korea will speed up the development of an advanced indigenous
nuclear reactor that can enhance the country's ability to compete in the
international market, the government said Wednesday.
The Ministry of Knowledge Economy said the development of the Advanced Power
Reactor (APR) will be completed by 2012, three years ahead of the original
schedule. The reactor has greater power output than current models in use along
with enhanced safety features and could start commercial operation in 2022.
-----------------
Apple's iPod reported to have exploded
SEOUL -- A user of Apple's portable media player the iPod has claimed that his
device exploded owing to a battery problem, South Korean media reported
Wednesday.
The user claimed in a posting on an Internet community site
(http://clien.career.co.kr) that his iPod nano, one of the highest-selling
digital audio players in history, exploded, supplying a photo of the player which
shows the device with a melted center.
(END)
