ID :
48061
Fri, 02/27/2009 - 21:43
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/48061
The shortlink copeid
Yonhap News Summary
The following is the second summary of major stories moved by Yonhap News Agency on Friday.
-----------------
(LEAD) S. Korean defense chief blasts N. Korea over frayed ties, tension
SEOUL -- North Korea is straining cross-border ties and threatening regional
peace by escalating tensions, South Korea's top defense official said Friday,
urging a group of newly commissioned officers to stay ready to repel any armed
provocation.
The speech, released by the Ministry of National Defense, came as Minister Lee
Sang-hee stepped up his warning against North Korea, which recently threatened an
armed clash near the western sea border.
-----------------
Seoul rejects students' N. Korea trip request amid missile tension
SEOUL -- The Seoul government has decided not to approve a planned visit to North
Korea by a group of South Korean students, a spokesman said Friday, amid
heightened tension surrounding the North's missile activity.
In a rare move, the Unification Ministry rejected a request by the three student
activists seeking to visit North Korea from Saturday until Wednesday next week.
-----------------
Kim exits nuclear talks with mission incomplete
SEOUL -- South Korea's outgoing nuclear envoy Kim Sook on Friday lamented leaving
the job with the disabling of North Korea's nuclear program and delivery of
energy aid unfinished.
"I am not satisfied with what I have done," Kim said in a meeting with reporters
hours after the presidential office announced the choice of him as deputy head of
the country's intelligence agency. "Looking back on the past year, I achieved
almost nothing."
-----------------
(LEAD) N. Korean leader more active this year than ever
SEOUL -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il increased the number of his public
visits three-fold this month from his average activities for February in recent
years, Seoul officials said Friday.
Kim appeared publicly 15 times this month, compared to an average 5.3 visits he
made in February between 2000 and last year, said the Unification Ministry. This
year's figure was the highest since he took the rein of the country after his
father and North Korean founder Kim Il-sung's death in 1994.
-----------------
S. Korean officials to visit Afghanistan to set assistance timetable
SEOUL -- South Korea will dispatch a team of working-level officials to
Afghanistan in March or April before setting a timetable for expanding its
contributions to rebuilding the war-torn nation, a government official said
Friday.
He added the government has decided to increase the number of the country's
workers in Afghanistan to more than 90 from the current 24 and build a complex
that has a large hospital, a well-equipped training center and worker lodgings
inside the U.S. Air Force Base in Bagram, about 80km north of Kabul.
-----------------
(LEAD) Seoul shares end up 0.78 pct on finance, builder gains
SEOUL -- South Korean stocks closed 0.78 percent higher in a volatile session
Friday as investors picked up recently beaten-down finance and construction
shares, analysts said. The local currency fell to a near 11-year low against the
greenback.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 8.24 points to
1,063.03. Volume was heavy at 492 million shares worth 3.5 trillion won (US$2.3
billion), with winners outpacing losers 530 to 253.
-----------------
Won hits 11-year low to dollar
SEOUL -- The South Korean currency fell to an 11-year low against the U.S. dollar
Friday as offshore investors snapped up the greenback amid ongoing global
financial turmoil, dealers said.
The local currency closed at 1,534 won to the greenback, down 16.5 won or 1.08
percent from the previous session's close and the lowest level since March 1998
when South Korea was in the midst of the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis.
(END)
-----------------
(LEAD) S. Korean defense chief blasts N. Korea over frayed ties, tension
SEOUL -- North Korea is straining cross-border ties and threatening regional
peace by escalating tensions, South Korea's top defense official said Friday,
urging a group of newly commissioned officers to stay ready to repel any armed
provocation.
The speech, released by the Ministry of National Defense, came as Minister Lee
Sang-hee stepped up his warning against North Korea, which recently threatened an
armed clash near the western sea border.
-----------------
Seoul rejects students' N. Korea trip request amid missile tension
SEOUL -- The Seoul government has decided not to approve a planned visit to North
Korea by a group of South Korean students, a spokesman said Friday, amid
heightened tension surrounding the North's missile activity.
In a rare move, the Unification Ministry rejected a request by the three student
activists seeking to visit North Korea from Saturday until Wednesday next week.
-----------------
Kim exits nuclear talks with mission incomplete
SEOUL -- South Korea's outgoing nuclear envoy Kim Sook on Friday lamented leaving
the job with the disabling of North Korea's nuclear program and delivery of
energy aid unfinished.
"I am not satisfied with what I have done," Kim said in a meeting with reporters
hours after the presidential office announced the choice of him as deputy head of
the country's intelligence agency. "Looking back on the past year, I achieved
almost nothing."
-----------------
(LEAD) N. Korean leader more active this year than ever
SEOUL -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il increased the number of his public
visits three-fold this month from his average activities for February in recent
years, Seoul officials said Friday.
Kim appeared publicly 15 times this month, compared to an average 5.3 visits he
made in February between 2000 and last year, said the Unification Ministry. This
year's figure was the highest since he took the rein of the country after his
father and North Korean founder Kim Il-sung's death in 1994.
-----------------
S. Korean officials to visit Afghanistan to set assistance timetable
SEOUL -- South Korea will dispatch a team of working-level officials to
Afghanistan in March or April before setting a timetable for expanding its
contributions to rebuilding the war-torn nation, a government official said
Friday.
He added the government has decided to increase the number of the country's
workers in Afghanistan to more than 90 from the current 24 and build a complex
that has a large hospital, a well-equipped training center and worker lodgings
inside the U.S. Air Force Base in Bagram, about 80km north of Kabul.
-----------------
(LEAD) Seoul shares end up 0.78 pct on finance, builder gains
SEOUL -- South Korean stocks closed 0.78 percent higher in a volatile session
Friday as investors picked up recently beaten-down finance and construction
shares, analysts said. The local currency fell to a near 11-year low against the
greenback.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 8.24 points to
1,063.03. Volume was heavy at 492 million shares worth 3.5 trillion won (US$2.3
billion), with winners outpacing losers 530 to 253.
-----------------
Won hits 11-year low to dollar
SEOUL -- The South Korean currency fell to an 11-year low against the U.S. dollar
Friday as offshore investors snapped up the greenback amid ongoing global
financial turmoil, dealers said.
The local currency closed at 1,534 won to the greenback, down 16.5 won or 1.08
percent from the previous session's close and the lowest level since March 1998
when South Korea was in the midst of the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis.
(END)
