Yonhap News Summary

The following is the second summary of major stories moved by Yonhap News Agency
on Monday.

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(2nd LD) President sacks finance minister over economic crisis
SEOUL -- President Lee Myung-bak, under public pressure, sacked his finance and
unification ministers Monday as part of a long-anticipated government
reorganization as he prepares to begin the second year of his five-year term.
"The focus of the reshuffle has been to reorganize the government's economic team
that will carry out the most urgent, pressing task of reviving the country's
economy," Lee Dong-kwan, a spokesman for the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae,
told a press conference.
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Replacement of unification minister signals tougher stance on N. Korea
SEOUL -- President Lee Myung-bak's decision Monday to designate one of his
hawkish North Korea policy advisors as new unification minister suggested that
his administration would further toughen its stance on Pyongyang regardless of
the communist regime's increasingly bellicose threats, analysts said.
Hyun In-taek, a Korea University politics professor set to replace Kim Ha-joong
as Seoul's new pointman on North Korea, used to be a key North Korea advisor to
Lee during his presidential election campaign in 2007. The centerpiece of Lee's
North Korea policy is linking South Korea's economic aid to the denuclearization
of North Korea.
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(LEAD) (News Focus) Pyongyang's bellicose rhetoric may suggest internal jitters:
analysts
SEOUL -- North Korea's latest military threats are widely viewed as brinkmanship
aimed at the incoming U.S. administration, but they also coincide with growing
speculation of a power transfer in Pyongyang and heightened internal propaganda
by the regime.
With leader Kim Jong-il reportedly in feeble health and the country suffering
growing economic woes, analysts view Pyongyang as trying to settle internal
jitters and tighten regime control by taking a confrontational mode against
Seoul.
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(News Focus) Finance minister-designate to tackle biggest economic crisis in decade:
analysts
SEOUL -- South Korea's incoming finance minister should double up efforts to
stabilize financial markets and bolster an economy poised to slip into its first
recession in more than a decade, analysts said Monday.
Yoon Jeung-hyun, 62, was appointed to the post by the president, replacing the
embattled Kang Man-soo, who had been under pressure to resign for what critics
have called his "misguided" economic and financial measures. The replacement
comes less than a year after Kang's inauguration.
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S. Korean troops keep maximum vigil on N. Korea ahead of Obama inauguration
SEOUL -- South Korea does not rule out the possibility of North Korean
provocation ahead of the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Barack Obama, and
is keeping "maximum" tabs on its communist neighbor, defense officials said
Monday.
North Korea released a series of angry statements over the weekend, professing
its intent to retain its nuclear capability even after the normalization of ties
with the United States and threatening to go on an "all-out confrontational
posture" against South Korea to enforce its claim over a disputed western sea
border.
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S. Korea hails Gaza ceasefire deal
SEOUL -- The South Korean government on Monday welcomed a ceasefire deal in Gaza
and expressed hope that it will pave the way for a solid truce in the volatile
region.
"The government highly appraises diplomatic efforts by the international
community, including the U.N. secretary general and Egypt, to resolve the Gaza
incident," foreign ministry spokesman Moon Tae-young said in a statement, as
Israeli troops began withdrawing after their deadly three-week offensive. The
pullout came under a fragile ceasefire agreement reached over the weekend.
(END)