Yonhap News Summary

The following is the first summary of major stories moved by Yonhap News Agency
on Tuesday.

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S. Korea expects six-way gathering in Moscow to break nuke deadlock
SEOUL -- South Korean delegates left Tuesday for Moscow to attend a six-nation
meeting on peace and security in Northeast Asia, holding out hopes for a
breakthrough in the stalled negotiations on the North Korean nuclear program.
The third working group meeting on the Northeast Asia peace and security
mechanism, slated for Thursday and Friday, is to discuss detailed ways to bring
lasting peace to the region and Russia has already presented the second draft of
guiding principles, according to Hur Chul, director general of the foreign
ministry's Korean Peninsula peace regime bureau.
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(LEAD) S. Koreans mourn death of their first Roman Catholic cardinal
SEOUL -- Braving an early morning cold spell, hundreds of South Koreans flocked
to Seoul's landmark cathedral Tuesday, offering their prayers to the late Stephen
Kim Sou-hwan, the country's first cardinal who stood with the people in the
pro-democracy movement of the 1980s.
"A great man he was. Yet he was always alongside us, not above us," said
42-year-old Catholic faithful Im Mi-jeong as he stood in a long line of people
waiting to enter the Myeongdong Cathedral and pay their last respects. "I will
always remember him by the sacrifices he made for society."
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U.N. chief mourns Cardinal Kim's death
SEOUL -- United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon offered his condolences
Tuesday over the death of Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan, lauding him as a
spiritual leader who made huge contributions to the development of South Korean
politics and society.
In a telegram to Cardinal Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk, Ban said Cardinal Kim not only
opened a new chapter in the South Korean Roman Catholic circles but also stood
out as a spiritual leader in the country's tumultuous efforts to grow into a
democracy, according to the foreign ministry.
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N. Korea to hold Arirang festival from August to October: U.S. agency
SEOUL -- North Korea will hold its Arirang Festival, the world's largest mass
gymnastics show, from August to mid-October, a U.S. tour agency said Tuesday.
Pyongyang has intermittently held the annual Arirang festival, named after
Korea's famous folk song, since 2002, mobilizing some 100,000 people for
synchronized acrobatics, gymnastics, dances and flip-card mosaic animations.
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Gov't to double support for free economic zones
SEOUL -- The government will nearly double its support for infrastructure
projects within the country's special economic zones to fuel development and
create more jobs, officials said Tuesday.
The plan calls for 231.6 billion won (US$160.4 million) to be spent this year on
various projects, an increase of 92 percent from the 120.7 billion won used in
2008, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said.
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Korea's trade terms dip to record low in 2008 on higher oil prices
SEOUL -- South Korea's terms of trade deteriorated to the lowest level in 20
years in 2008 on a jump in oil and raw material costs, the central bank said
Tuesday.
The country's net terms-of-trade index for goods fell 13.8 percent on-year to
78.5 last year, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The index declined to the
lowest level since 1988 when the BOK began to compile related data.
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Head of maritime police tapped as new police chief
SEOUL -- President Lee Myung-bak has tapped the head of the maritime police to be
the new chief of the National Police Agency, the presidential office said
Tuesday, Lee's second nomination for the post in less than a month.
Kang Hee-rak, head of the Korea Coast Guard, has been named to succeed Eo
Cheong-soo, who retired last month as commissioner of the National Police Agency,
according to the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae.
(END)