Yonhap News Summary

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

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White House names 6-way talks among major foreign policy achievements
WASHINGTON -- The outgoing Bush administration on Sunday included six-party talks
on ending North Korea's nuclear ambitions among its major foreign policy
achievements, saying North Korea's nuclear reactor is being disabled under an
aid-for-denuclearization deal.
The Bush administration has "established the Six Party Talks framework in
partnership with China, South Korea, Japan, and Russia" and "obtained a
commitment from North Korea to abandon all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear
programs," the White House said in a fact sheet carried on its Web site.
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(LEAD) N. Korean leader continues military tours in New Year
SEOUL -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has inspected an artillery unit, the
North's news agency said Monday, continuing military tours as his first New Year
activity in the first such move for more than a decade.
Kim has usually started New Years with visits to industrial sites or where his
father's embalmed body lies.
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Korea's foreign reserves rise to US$201.2 bln in Dec.
SEOUL -- South Korea's foreign exchange reserves rose in December for the first
time in nine months as a weaker U.S. dollar boosted the dollar value of assets in
other currencies, the central bank said Monday.
The nation's foreign reserves totaled US$201.22 billion as of the end of
December, up $720 million from a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea
(BOK).
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(3rd LD) US, S. Korea make headway in base relocation talks: officials
SEOUL -- The United States has agreed to a South Korea-proposed timetable for
relocating its military command here out of Seoul by 2014, but the sides remain
split on when to complete the relocation of a frontline U.S. army base, officials
here said Monday.
The U.S. proposed last year that the relocation of Yongsan Garrison to
Pyeongtaek, about 50 kilometers south of Seoul, be completed by 2016, citing
pressure in costs.
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Seoul to set up new presidential council on economic crisis
SEOUL -- South Korea said on Monday it will set up a new presidential council
this week tasked solely with overcoming what the government has called an
unprecedented economic crisis.
The council will be chaired by President Lee Myung-bak himself and attended by a
number of economy-related ministers and officials, including the governor of the
country's central bank and the chief presidential secretary for economic affairs,
according to presidential spokesman Lee Dong-kwan.
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S. Korea plans to allow confiscation of terrorism-related funds
SEOUL -- South Korea plans to amend its criminal laws to allow authorities to
confiscate funds and assets related to terrorist activities in an attempt to
boost the country's participation in international anti-terrorism campaigns,
officials said Monday.
The bill, submitted to the National Assembly, would allow the courts to forfeit
funds related to terrorist activities as well as stocks and real estates derived
from them, the Justice Ministry said.
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Opposition partially disbands sit-down, makes room for talks
SEOUL -- Opposition lawmakers partially disbanded their occupation of the
National Assembly on Monday, opening room for talks following a 10-day sit-in
aimed at blocking bills initiated by the ruling party and the government.
Members of the Democratic Party (DP) ended their sit-in protest at the entrance
of the main hall of the assembly earlier in the day on National Assembly Speaker
Kim Hyong-o's promise Sunday that he would not invoke his authority to put those
bills to vote without cross-party compromise.
(END)