Yonhap News Summary

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

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(LEAD) N. Korea fully reopens border for S. Koreans visiting joint industrial complex
SEOUL -- North Korea lifted a days-long ban on border crossings Tuesday,
normalizing visits by South Korean workers and cargo trucks to a joint industrial
complex.
The North Korean military partially reopened the border a day earlier, allowing
some South Korean workers to return home from the industrial zone in North
Korea's border town of Kaesong. Crossing the other way remained banned.
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N. Korean defectors to send anti-Kim Jong-il leaflets
SEOUL -- A group of North Korean defectors will resume their controversial
anti-Pyongyang campaign on Tuesday, flying leaflets criticizing North Korean
leader Kim Jong-il into his country using balloons, an organizer said.
At the government's request, prosecutors have begun an investigation into lead
activists who brought in North Korean currency for their leaflet campaign last
month, allegedly in violation of South Korean law.
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N. Korea may have sea-based missile system: report
WASHINGTON -- North Korea may have developed a sea-based missile system that
could pose a significant threat to the mainland United States, according to a
recent U.S. congressional report.
Pyongyang might have assembled medium and intermediate-range weapons based on
Soviet R-27 submarine launched ballistic missile (SLBM) technology, the
Congressional Research Report suggested. North Korea reportedly purchased 12
decommissioned Russian Foxtrot and Golf-II class submarines for scrap metal from
a Japanese company.
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Japan to go nuclear if faced with nuclear-armed unified Korea: report
WASHINGTON -- Japan will likely go nuclear if a unified Korea decides to keep the
nuclear arsenal developed by North Korea, setting the stage for a tense military
competition between the two Northeast Asian rivals, a U.S. congressional report
said Monday.
"Any eventual reunification of the Korean Peninsula could further induce Japan to
reconsider its nuclear stance," said the report by the Congressional Research
Service.
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(News Focus) U.S. carrier leads vigil in East Sea as tension boils over N.K. rocket
ON THE EAST SEA, South Korea -- Catapulted off a nuclear-powered U.S. aircraft
carrier, bands of F/A-18 Hornets soared this week with a deafening roar over the
East Sea, where Japanese and South Korean warships intensified their lookout
ahead of North Korea's planned rocket launch.
The twin nuclear-engined USS John C. Stennis carrier is leading the second half
of the joint South Korea-U.S. military exercise that will end Friday, amid
relentless allegations by North Korea that it amounts to preparation for war.
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S. Korean survivors set to return home from Yemen
SEOUL -- A dozen South Koreans, including several survivors of a deadly bombing
in Yemen that authorities there suspect is linked to al-Qaeda, were to return to
Seoul later Tuesday.
A bomb went off in the ancient city of Shibam, about 900km east of the Yemeni
capital, Sanna, Sunday night (Seoul time), killing four South Korean tourists,
including two women, and wounding three others on a group tour to the Arab
country known for militant activity targeting foreigners.
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S. Korea pushes to expand size, maturity of currency swap with U.S.
SEOUL -- South Korea is pushing to expand the size and maturity of its US$30
billion currency swap deal with the United States as part of efforts to better
prepare for a liquidity crunch, a high-ranking official said Tuesday.
"Finance Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun asked for his U.S. counterpart Timothy Geithner
to expand the size and maturity of the currency swap line during the Group of 20
meeting in London," Deputy Finance Minister Shin Je-yoon told reporters during a
briefing on the gathering which ended on Sunday.
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S. Korea's inflation outstrips OECD average
SEOUL -- South Korea's inflation grew at a faster pace than the average for
member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD)
in January on higher crude prices and the weakening local currency, data showed
Tuesday.
According to the data provided by the OECD and the government, South Korea's
inflation jumped 3.7 percent in January, compared with an average of 1.3 percent
for the group's 30 member nations. The figure was the fourth highest among the
member countries along with Australia and Slovakia.
(END)