Yonhap News Summary

The following is the first summary of major stories moved by Yonhap News Agency on Tuesday.
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U.S. not inviting N. Korean official in January: State Dept. official
WASHINGTON -- The United States does not have any plan to invite North Korean
officials to coincide with the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama on
Jan. 20, a State Department official said Monday.
"We have no current plan for Kim Kye-gwan to visit the United States in January,"
the official said, asking anonymity.
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S. Korea pushing for return of war prisoners from N. Korea
SEOUL -- South Korea is considering offering incentives for North Korea in
exchange for the return of war prisoners and civilians held in the North, a
government official said Tuesday.
More than 1,000 South Koreans -- soldiers captured during the 1950-53 Korean War
and fishermen abducted during the Cold War era -- are still detained in the
communist state, Seoul officials say. Pyongyang denies holding any of them
against their will.
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(2nd) Buddhist group sends food for mothers, babies in N. Korea
SEOUL -- A South Korean Buddhist organization said Tuesday that it shipped a
fresh batch of food aid for mothers and children in North Korea.
Baby formula and food for mothers worth 380 million won (US$302,307) will be
distributed in Hoeryong, a town in the impoverished state's northernmost North
Hamgyong Province, said Seoul-based Jungto Society (JTS).
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(2nd LD) S. Korea logs current account surplus for 2nd month in Nov.
SEOUL -- South Korea posted a current account surplus for a second month in
November, the central bank said Tuesday, raising hopes it could help ease
downward pressure on the sliding local currency.
The current account surplus reached US$2.06 billion in November, down from a
revised record $4.75 billion surplus the previous month, the Bank of Korea (BOK)
said in a report. The surplus sharply narrowed as a global economic slump dented
exports.
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S. Korea's national pension fund set to log first loss
SEOUL -- South Korea's state-run pension fund will likely post its first-ever
loss this year due mainly to a tumble in local stock prices, the health ministry
said Tuesday.
The National Pension Service (NPS) is estimated to have recorded a valuation loss
of 1.76 trillion won (US$1.4 billion) from its investments as of Dec. 26,
according to the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Family Affairs.
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Ssangyong Motor's fortunes turn bleaker after junk bond rating
SEOUL -- The troubles of Ssangyong Motor Co., which will face liquidation unless
its Chinese parent Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. injects fresh capital,
deepened Tuesday after a local credit risk appraiser cut its rating to junk bond
status.
The move will make Ssangyong's efforts to seek new loans from South Korean banks
even harder with its cash reserves dwindling amid a prolonged liquidity crisis
and a sharp decline in vehicle sales.
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University to drop stem cell patent bid involving Hwang
SEOUL -- A leading South Korean university has decided to virtually drop its
efforts to obtain overseas patents for disgraced scientist Hwang Woo-suk's
controversial stem cell production technology, school officials said Tuesday.
Hwang, a former veterinary professor at Seoul National University (SNU), has been
on trial since 2006 on charges of fraud and violation of bioethics laws after his
team was found to have fabricated laboratory test results to claim success in his
study.
(END)