Yonhap News Summary

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

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(LEAD) N. Korea claims clash occurred on routine duty, demands apology from South
SEOUL -- North Korea demanded an apology from South Korea over a naval clash on
the western sea border on Tuesday, calling the skirmish a "grave armed
provocation" by the South that targeted a patrol boat on routine duty.
The two-minute skirmish occurred near Baekryeong Island shortly before midday.
South Korea sustained no casualties, while the North Korean patrol boat retreated
after apparently suffering "considerable" damage, according to the South Korean
Navy. The extent of possible casualties in the North was not immediately known.
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(LEAD) President calls emergency meeting of security ministers over naval clash
SEOUL -- President Lee Myung-bak told the military Tuesday to maintain calm,
asking it to ensure that a naval clash with North Korea does not develop into a
worsening situation, his senior secretary said.
Convening an emergency meeting of security-related ministers immediately after
being told of the skirmish off the west coast, Lee called Defense Minister Kim
Tae-young.
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French envoy meets N. Korea's foreign minister: report
SEOUL -- A special envoy of French President Nicolas Sarkozy on North Korea met
with the communist country's top diplomat on Tuesday, the North's media said, in
a visit seen as aimed at exploring ways of improving bilateral relations.
Jack Lang, who arrived in Pyongyang on Monday, met with North Korean Foreign
Minister Pak Ui-chun at the Mansudae Assembly Hall in Pyongyang, according to a
report from the North's Korean Central News Agency monitored in Seoul.
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(LEAD) Four more die from H1N1
SEOUL -- Four more people have died in South Korea from the Influenza A (H1N1)
virus, including a 25-year-old woman not in a high-risk group, health authorities
said Tuesday.
Those deaths bring the country's total death toll from the new flu to 52.
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Samsung to recall 43,000 microwave ovens in U.S.
SEOUL -- South Korean electronics giant Samsung Electronics Co. said Tuesday that
it has decided to recall more than 43,000 microwave ovens sold in the U.S. due to
a faulty component.
The move follows a discovery that certain "over-the-range" microwave ovens have a
capacitor, a device that accumulates electric charge, located incorrectly,
Samsung said.
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S. Korean unemployment rises slowest among OECD countries: report
SEOUL -- South Korea's jobless rate rose at the slowest pace among the world's
major economies, indicating its employment conditions remain relatively better
than others in the face of an economic slowdown, a report showed Tuesday.
The nation's jobless rate rose 0.4 percentage point in September from a year
earlier, according to the report by the Paris-based Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development. The on-year increase in the unemployment rate is the
smallest among the organization's member countries and much smaller than the OECD
average of a 2.3 percentage point rise.
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President appoints chief of inter-American bank as special adviser
SEOUL -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak on Tuesday named the chief of
Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) as a member of his global advisory group
whose main task is to help improve the country's international competitiveness,
Seoul's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said.
Luis Alberto Moreno became the latest member of the group that was launched in
June 2008 with 15 members, including the head of the U.S. software giant
Microsoft, Bill Gates.
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(LEAD) Seoul shares end 0.35 pct higher despite naval clash
SEOUL -- South Korean stocks closed 0.35 percent higher Tuesday as investors
brushed off an inter-Korean naval skirmish along the western sea border, analysts
said. The local currency inched down against the U.S. dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 5.51 points to
1,582.3. Volume was moderate at 271.7 million shares worth 3.8 trillion won
(US$3.28 billion), but losers outnumbered gainers 432 to 351.
(END)