Yonhap News Summary

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

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U.S. wants written agreement on taking samples from nuke sites: Hill
WASHINGTON -- U.S. chief nuclear envoy Christopher Hill said Tuesday he will
discuss reaching a written agreement on taking samples from North Korea's nuclear
facilities when he meets with his North Korean counterpart in Singapore later
this week.
"We don't want a situation where our scientists arrive, and they want to do some
scientific procedures, and then there's a big disagreement on what scientific
procedures they are allowed to do," Hill told reporters at Japan's Narita
Airport, according to a transcript released by the State Department.
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Congress urges Obama gov't to emphasize stopping N. Korean nuke ambitions
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Congress recommended Tuesday that the incoming Barack
Obama administration give priority to stopping the nuclear ambitions of North
Korea and Iran, fearing their armament will jeopardize the nuclear
nonproliferation treaty.
"As a top priority, the next administration must stop the Iranian and North
Korean nuclear weapons programs," a congressional research report said. "In the
case of North Korea, this requires the complete abandonment and dismantlement of
all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs."
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(News Focus) N. Korea, U.S. set for make-or-break talks in Singapore
SEOUL -- Progress in the six-way talks on the North Korean nuclear program
depends again on a showdown between Pyongyang and Washington in Singapore, an
emerging venue for the two sides' crucial negotiations.
North Korea's top nuclear envoy Kim Kye-gwan flew into the city state on Tuesday
for the first meeting with his American counterpart Christopher Hill in two
months.
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S. Korea, U.S., Japan to seek sampling from N. Korean nuke facilities
TOKYO -- South Korea, Japan and the United States on Wednesday reaffirmed their
decision to push for a deal with North Korea that wil allow inspectors to take
samples from its nuclear sites.
"We agreed that it is necessary to take samples to verify North Korea's
declaration of its nuclear program," South Korea's top negotiator Kim Sook told
reporters in Tokyo after meeting with his American and Japanese counterparts. "We
will make efforts to put it in writing during the forthcoming six-party talks (on
the North Korean nuclear program)."
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Seoul says ideological feud over anti-Pyongyang leaflets undesirable
SEOUL -- The South Korean government said Wednesday the country's burgeoning
ideological divide over anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets was "undesirable" and
might give a "wrong message" to the communist nation amid deteriorating
cross-border relations.
Activists from groups who regularly send balloons carrying flyers to North Korea
clashed Tuesday with tens of opponents from liberal groups protesting against the
campaign as they attempted to launch a new batch of balloons at a port near the
western sea border between the two Koreas. One activist was hospitalized after
being hit on the head with a wrench wielded by a protester.
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Seoul blasts Pyongyang for breaching inter-Korean agreements
SEOUL -- South Korea on Wednesday accused North Korea of breaching every existing
military agreement between the two Koreas, blaming the communist nation for what
is now a nearly defunct relationship between the two.
The accusation comes two days after the communist North virtually shut down the
passage through the inter-Korean border, reducing the number of South Koreans
allowed to cross it from nearly 10,000 a day to only 1,500.
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(LEAD) (News Focus) Further decline in foreign reserves feared to augment market
jitters
SEOUL -- A further decline in South Korea's foreign currency reserves could
worsen market volatility as local companies increasingly encounter difficulty in
securing dollars amid frozen credit conditions, experts said Wednesday.
With the worldwide risk-averse trend, the fall could also put additional downward
pressure on the nation's already-weakening currency against the U.S. dollar, they
said.
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(LEAD) Seoul shares end 0.05 pct down on persistent jitters
SEOUL -- South Korean stocks finished 0.05 percent lower Wednesday as
institutions and foreign investors dumped blue chips on growing jitters over the
slumping economy, analysts said. The local currency fell slightly to the U.S.
dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) dipped 0.53 points to
1,022.67. Volume was heavy at 471.8 million shares worth 5.2 trillion won
(US$3.54 billion). Gainers, however, outnumbered losers 464 to 349.
(END)