Yonhap News Summary

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

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N. Korea allows S. Koreans to visit joint complex
SEOUL -- North Korea allowed South Koreans to visit a joint industrial complex on
Monday after normalizing border traffic over the weekend following the conclusion
of a U.S.-South Korean military exercise, Seoul officials said.
North Korea had severed the only remaining official phone and fax channel with
South Korea and sealed their shared border three times during the March 9-20
joint drill, which it views as a rehearsal for invasion.
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Kim Jong-il named 3rd worst dictator after Mugabe, al-Bashir
WASHINGTON -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has been named the third worst
dictator in the world, a U.S. weekly magazine said Sunday.
Kim is the worst only after Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe and Sudan's Omar al-Bashir,
the magazine Parade said in "The World's 10 Worst Dictatorships" published in its
Sunday edition.
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(LEAD) S. Korea, EU begin last round of free trade negotiations
SEOUL -- Negotiators from South Korea and the European Union started talks Monday
to iron out differences on sticky issues in their free trade negotiations,
officials said.
During a two-day meeting in Seoul, South Korean chief negotiator Lee Hye-min and
his EU counterpart Ignacio Garcia Bercero will seek to narrow differences on
rules of origin, duty drawback and other issues.
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Seoul to cut number of military attaches at overseas embassies
SEOUL -- South Korea plans to bring home nearly one third of its military
attaches stationed abroad in an effort to cut spending and combat the economic
doldrums, officials said Monday.
The Ministry of National Defense plans to gradually withdraw 24 of the 80
military officers now serving at South Korean embassies around the world, Col.
Kim Chong-wan said in a briefing.
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(LEAD) Korean War hero may be nominated as honorary five-star general: officials
SEOUL -- South Korea's defense ministry is considering nominating a widely known
Korean War hero, Paik Sun-yup, as the country's first honorary general of the
army, officials said Monday.
Paik, 88, a retired general, was the first to enter Pyongyang after the U.N.
forces led by U.S. General Douglas MacArthur turned the tables on North Korea
during the 1950-53 conflict.
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Gov't, ruling party agree on 28.9 tln won extra budget
SEOUL -- The government and the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) on Monday
reached a tentative agreement to create a supplementary budget of 28.9 trillion
won (US$20.6 billion), accelerating their bid for job creation and economic
recovery, officials said.
The tentative agreement was announced after a meeting of top government and GNP
officials, including Prime Minister Han Seung-soo and GNP Chairman Park Hee-tae.
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(LEAD) Gov't unveils program to support middle class
SEOUL -- The South Korean government Tuesday launched a new program to support
the country's middle-income workers, stressing that a strong middle class is the
key to economic recovery and future growth.
The program, named the Human New Deal, calls for efforts to prevent those in the
economic class from falling out of their bracket, as well as support for those
moving up the stratum, according to the Presidential Council on Future and
Vision.