Yonhap News Summary

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

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(LEAD) Seoul proposes talks with N. Korea to keep border open
SEOUL -- South Korea on Thursday urged North Korea to engage in dialogue, one day
after the communist state said it will shut down all overland passages across the
inter-Korean border.
Seoul's call for talks came from the Defense Ministry in a one-page reply to the
North's message, expressing the government's deep regret over Pyongyang's threat
to close the border from the beginning of next month.
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Cheong Wa Dae warns Pyongyang not to misunderstand situation
SEOUL -- The presidential office Cheong Wa Dae on Thursday warned North Korea
against misunderstanding the international diplomatic situation, stepping up
criticism of the communist state's abrupt decision to close inter-Korean
crossings and communications.
In a message sent to Seoul Wednesday, the North Korean military threatened to
"strictly restrict and cut off all the overland passages" through the
inter-Korean border from Dec. 1, citing South Korea's failure to abide by the
existing inter-Korean summit agreements.
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(LEAD) U.S. contradicts N. Korea over sample taking at nuclear facilities
WASHINGTON -- The United States Wednesday denied North Korea's claim that it had
never agreed that international inspectors could take samples from its nuclear
facilities as part of a verification protocol.
"It was basically agreed that experts could take samples and remove them from the
country for testing," State Department spokesman Robert Wood said in a daily news
briefing, citing "the understandings on verification that were issued last month"
after the chief U.S. nuclear envoy's visit to Pyongyang on the issue.
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(LEAD) S. Korea, U.S. question N. Korean intentions
SEOUL -- Efforts by the outgoing Bush administration to create a workable scheme
to denuclearize North Korea are being stymied as Pyongyang balks at allowing
samples to be taken from its main nuclear facilities in Yongybon.
Sample-taking by outside inspectors is a key part of what the U.S. says are
agreed-upon "scientific procedures" to verify the secretive nation's June
declaration of its nuclear assets.
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Earthquake monitors to watch for N. Korea nuclear activity
SEOUL -- South Korea's weather agency said Thursday it will install earthquake
recorders in three regions adjacent to the inter-Korean border so as to detect
possible nuclear activities by North Korea.
The seismometers will be set up 100 meters below ground in the rural towns of
Ganghwa, Yeoncheon and Inje to record seismic waves that can be generated by
nuclear tests and other artificial explosions as well as earthquakes, said the
Korea Meteorological Administration.
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Constitutional Court to rule on controversial real estate tax
SEOUL -- The Constitutional Court will rule Thursday on whether a law that levies
heavier taxes on owners of high-end homes is constitutional in a landmark case
that carries heavy political weight.
The ruling, set for 2 p.m., will be the first judiciary interpretation of the
comprehensive real estate holding tax, which has caused a sharp divide along
socioeconomic and party lines.
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(LEAD) High school students take college admission test
SEOUL -- More than half a million high school students and graduates on Thursday
began a nationwide college entrance exam that weighs heavily on their future
while the nation hushed up traffic and military noise that could disrupt the
critical test.
Parents could be seen praying outside test centers. The College Scholastic
Ability Test, conducted on the third Thursday of November every year, is
considered to be the decisive factor in determining a student's career
opportunities.
(END)