(ATTN: REPHRASES 7th para from bottom to clarify interception scenario; RECASTS time
element in para 2; CORRECTS commander's rank in para 2; ADDS background in last 3
paras)

By Sam Kim
SEOUL, March 13 (Yonhap) -- A South Korean warship with a crew of 300 departed
Friday for Somali waters to join multinational efforts to fight piracy in the

SEOUL, March 13 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and Peru will hold their first round of free trade talks in Seoul next week, officials here said Friday.

By Nam Kwang-sik
SEOUL, March 13 (Yonhap) -- Lotte Group, a South Korean retail and beverage
conglomerate, is expected to try again to acquire beer giant Oriental Brewery Co.

SEOUL, March 13 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and Peru will hold their first round of
free trade talks in Seoul next week, officials here said Friday.

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

Today in Korean history
March 14

SEOUL, March 13 (Yonhap) -- Moody's Investors Service said Friday it has downgraded its rating outlook for POSCO to negative from stable due to a downturn in the global steel industry while retaini

SEOUL, March 13 (Yonhap) -- South Korean banks' lending to households declined by the largest amount in over five years in January as they strengthened risk management amid the sharply slowing econ

SEOUL, March 13 (Yonhap) -- An international agency tasked with boosting ties
between South Korea and Southeast Asian countries was inaugurated here Friday as