Yonhap News Summary

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

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(LEAD) N. Korea renews warning on South's plan to join U.S.-led drive
SEOUL -- North Korea on Monday renewed its warning that South Korea's
participation in a U.S.-led security campaign will be regarded as a declaration
of war and vowed to bolster its nuclear force in self-defense.
The warning has been repeated by North Korea several times since the Seoul
government announced its plan in early April to expand its participation in the
Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) aimed at curbing the spread of weapons of
mass destruction. South Korea is currently an observer in the campaign.
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S. Korea bolsters task force to deal with N. Korean nuke threat
SEOUL -- South Korea has expanded its nuclear task force to deal with North
Korea's warning that it will conduct a second nuclear test, a foreign ministry
official said Monday.
The ministry added non-governmental nuclear experts and government officials to
the ad hoc unit launched in April last year so as to strengthen its technical
analysis, the ministry official said, requesting anonymity.
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N. Korea blasts U.N. over 'unfair' punishment for rocket launch
SEOUL -- North Korea on Monday accused the United Nations of being unfair to
countries not aligned with the United States, citing its condemnation of
Pyongyang's April 5 rocket launch as evidence.
Pyongyang withdrew from six-nation nuclear disarmament talks in protest of the
U.N. Security Council's rebuke of the launch. The North also said it would
conduct a second nuclear test and has begun reprocessing spent nuclear fuel rods,
a process which extracts plutonium used to make nuclear bombs. North Korea tested
its first nuclear device in 2006.
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(LEAD) S. Korea, U.S. agree to join forces to fight cyber terrorism
SEOUL -- South Korea and the United States have forged a tentative agreement to
bolster cooperation in fighting cyber terrorism against their defense networks,
the defense ministry in Seoul said Monday.
The April 30 deal is aimed at "enhancing the interoperability of the information
systems used by the militaries of the U.S. and South Korea," the Ministry of
National Defense said in a release.
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S. Korea's fiscal soundness to rank 5th among major economies: IMF
SEOUL -- South Korea's fiscal soundness will rank fifth among Group of 20 (G20)
major advanced and developing countries this year despite its ongoing efforts to
stimulate the sagging economy through tax cuts and additional spending, a report
showed Monday.
According to the report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), South Korea's
fiscal deficit will account for 3.2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) this
year, less than half the average 6.6 percent of G20 countries.
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S. Korea accelerates effort to promote its food
SEOUL -- South Korea on Monday launched its first promotional body dedicated to
promoting recognition and popularity of its foods abroad, the culture ministry
said.
The pan-government body -- comprised of 36 food experts, officials and CEOs
including Agriculture Minister Chang Tae-pyong and Culture Minister Yu In-chon --
will work on revising the law and setting up stable business structures to foster
Korean restaurants, chefs and food experts overseas.
(END)