YON - Yonhap News Agency of Korea articles from July 2003

YON - Yonhap News Agency of Korea archives from July 2003

SARS-ravaged Travel Agencies Coming Back to Life.
July 1, 2003... By Hwang Seok-joo Seoul, July 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's tourism industry is expanding rapidly after a months-long knockout caused by the deadly severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). In recent months, some travel agencies had to...

Assembly Adopts Resolution on North Korea's Human Rights.
July 1, 2003... Seoul, July 1 (Yonhap) -- In a move that is certain to anger North Korea, South Korea's National Assembly adopted a resolution Tuesday calling for improvement of human rights in the communist state. It is the first time that South Korean...

Gov't to Start DDA Service Sector Negotiations in Geneva this Week.
July 1, 2003... Seoul, July 1 (Yonhap) -- The Korean government will begin service sector negotiations of the WTO Doha Development Agenda (DDA) in Geneva, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT) said Tuesday. The talks are scheduled to begin...

Railroad Workers End Strike.
July 1, 2003... Seoul, July 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's state railroad workers called off their strike Tuesday afternoon, apparently giving into tough government action. In an emergency news conference, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, which has...

Roh Calls for Measures Against 'Man-made' Crises.
July 1, 2003... Seoul, July 1 (Yonhap) -- President Roh Moo-hyun called on ministers to be ready for all "man-made emergency situations" that could be triggered by labor walkouts, Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Yoon Tae-young said Tuesday. The president cited the...

Korean, Czech Prime Ministers Discuss North Korean Nuke Issue.
July 1, 2003... Prague, July 1 (Yonhap) -- Prime Minister Goh Kun and his Czech counterpart Vladimir Spidla held talks Tuesday on North Korea's nuclear weapons program and bilateral economic cooperation. During a meeting in the Czech capital, Goh called for...

Gov't Declines to Comment on Reports CIA Found N.K. Nuclear Plant.
July 1, 2003... Seoul, July 1 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean government declined to comment on a U.S. media report that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had located an advanced testing site in North Korea used to make small nuclear warheads, An...

IOC Members from South, North Korea Upbeat About Nuclear Issue.
July 1, 2003... Prague, July 1 (Yonhap) -- IOC members from South and North Korea held talks Tuesday in Prague and said if the two sides worked together the controversy surrounding the nuclear issue could be resolved. Kim Un-yong, South Korea's IOC...

Lee Departs for Washington for Consultation with U.S., Japan.
July 1, 2003... Seoul, July 1 (Yonhap) -- A senior South Korean diplomat left for Washington Tuesday for consultations with U.S. and Japanese officials on how to resolve the North Korean nuclear crisis. Just hours after Deputy Foreign Minister Lee...

First-Half Auto Sales Rise 10 Percent.
July 1, 2003... Seoul, July 1 (Yonhap) -- Brisk auto exports have offset a severe downturn in domestic sales in the first half, resulting in overall growth of 10 percent in South Korea's auto industry, industry figures showed Tuesday. Korea's five major...

Railway Service Set For Normalization Wednesday.
July 1, 2003... Seoul, July 1 (Yonhap) -- Railway freight and passenger services are expected to return to normal starting Wednesday, in the wake of unionized rail workers' voluntary decision Tuesday to end their four-day walkout. Sources at Korea...

North Korea Vows to Retaliate Against U.S. Over Sanctions.
July 1, 2003... Pyongyang, July 1 (KCNA-Yonhap) -- North Korea warned Tuesday it would immediately retaliate if the United States imposes sanctions or a naval and aerial blockade against it over its program to develop nuclear weapons. The North's...

Seoul City's Stream Restoration Project Begins.
July 1, 2003... Seoul, July 1 (Yonhap) -- Part of an overpass running through downtown Seoul was removed in a festive ceremony Tuesday symbolizing the start of a project to restore a stream covered up some 30 years ago. Seoul Mayor Lee Myung-bak and citizen...

Leading Business Index Falls For Second Month.
July 1, 2003... Seoul, July 1 (Yonhap) - Business sentiment in South Korea is forecast to further contract in July, with a leading indicator released by the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) showing a sharp retreat. The FKI said Tuesday its July...

Opposition Party Names New Secretary-General.
July 1, 2003... Seoul, July 1 (Yonhap) -- The opposition Grand National Party (GNP) completed a revamp of its leadership Tuesday by tapping younger leaders to fill mid-echelon posts. In a hotly contested race last week, Choe Byung-yul, a 65-year-old...

North Korea is known for its saber-rattling rhetoric.
July 1, 2003... Seoul, July 1 (Yonhap) -- North Korea is known for its saber-rattling rhetoric but the statement Tuesday was far more scathing than before toward the United States which keeps 37,000 troops in South Korea. The North accused the United...

Universiade Committee Completing Facilities, Preparations.
July 1, 2003... Daegu, July 1 (Yonhap) -- With the opening of the Daegu Summer Universiade in just 50 days, the Daegu City government has joined forces with the organizing committee of the world's biggest sports festival of college students in preparing not...

Korean, Czech Prime Ministers Discuss North Korean Nuke Issue.
July 1, 2003... Prague, July 1 (Yonhap) -- Prime Minister Goh Kun and his Czech counterpart Vladimir Spidla held talks Tuesday on North Korea's nuclear weapons program and bilateral economic cooperation. During a meeting in the Czech capital, Goh called for...

Separated Family Members Hold Individual Reunions in N. Korea.
July 1, 2003... Mount Geumgang, North Korea, July 1 (Yonhap) -- A group of 472 South Korean separated family members held individual reunions Tuesday with 100 elderly North Korean relatives at North Korea's Mount Geumgang. The reunions at the Onjonggak...

Koreas to Hold Working-level Talks on Relinkage of Railways.
July 1, 2003... Seoul, July 1 (Yonhap) -- Working-level officials from South and North Korea will hold three-day talks from Wednesday to work out details on the reconnection of two cross-border railways and adjacent roads, the Ministry of Unification said...

Ninety-five Gov't Committees to Be Overhauled.
July 1, 2003... Seoul, July 1 (Yonhap) -- The government will merge, disband or downgrade 95 of 339 advisory committees as part of a sweeping reform plan, the Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs said Tuesday. They include 64...

Pyeongchang Enters Last-Minute Effort to Rally Support for Bid.
July 1, 2003... Prague, July 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's ski resort city of Pyeongchang was making its last-minute effort Tuesday to rally support for its bid to host the 2010 Winter Olympics. Pyeongchang on South Korea's mountainous east region is...

France May Reverse Decision to Use 'East Sea' on Official Map.
July 1, 2003... Seoul, July 1 (Yonhap) -- France has told South Korea it may reverse its decision to identify the waters between South Korea and Japan as both the "Sea of Japan" and the "East Sea" in a government-published sea map, a Foreign Ministry...

Opposition Party Names New Secretary-General.
July 1, 2003... Seoul, July 1 (Yonhap) -- The opposition Grand National Party (GNP) tapped three-term lawmaker Park Joo-cheon as its secretary-general Tuesday. The GNP's new chairman Choe Byung-ryul, who was elected at last week's national convention, is...

North Korea Vows to Retaliate Against U.S. Over Sanctions.
July 1, 2003... Pyongyang, July 1 (KCNA-Yonhap) -- North Korea warned Tuesday it would immediately retaliate if the United States imposes sanctions or a naval and aerial blockade against it over its program to develop nuclear weapons. The North's...

Traffic Congestion Eased on 4th Day of Railway Strike.
July 1, 2003... Seoul, July 1 (Yonhap) -- Commuters in Seoul and its surrounding areas encountered less traffic from the railway strike Tuesday morning, with many of them using the public transportation system. Serious congestion was expected along roads...

LG Proposes Rights Offering Worth 500 Bln Won to Hanaro.
July 1, 2003... Seoul, July 1 (Yonhap) -- LG Group has proposed a rights offering worth 500 billion won(US$ 419.5 million) to Hanaro Telecom, its new telecommunications president, Jung Hong-shik said Tuesday. Jung, inaugurated in this day as LG Corp's...

Japan to Propose Temporary Suspension of N.K. Reactor Project.
July 1, 2003... Tokyo, July 1 (Yonhap) -- Japan plans to suggest at a meeting with South Korea and the United States this week that the construction of two light-water reactors in North Korea be temporarily suspended, a Japanese daily reported Tuesday. ...

Separated Families Hold Individual Reunions with N.K. Relatives.
July 1, 2003... Mount Geumgang, North Korea, July 1 (Yonhap) -- A group of 472 South Korean separated family members held individual reunions Tuesday with 100 elderly North Korean relatives at Mount Geumgang in the North. The reunions at the Onjonggak...

U.S. Congressman Proposes US$5 Billion Aid to N.K.
July 1, 2003... Seoul, July 1 (Yonhap) -- A ranking U.S. congressman has proposed giving North Korea up to US$5 billion in economic aid in return for the communist state agreeing to dismantle its nuclear program but the Bush Administration has dismissed it....

Gov't Urged to Sternly Deal with Railway Strike.
July 1, 2003... Seoul, July 1 (Yonhap) -- In a rare display of cooperation, the rival political parties called on striking railway workers Tuesday to end their four-day-old walkout while urging the government to sternly deal with it. The move came as...

N.K. Sports Official Encourages South Korean Bid for 2010 Olympics.
July 1, 2003... Prague, June 30 (Yonhap) -- A North Korean sports official with the right to participate in voting by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) encouraged South Korea Monday to do its best until the last minute to win the honor of hosting the...

Korea Holds Second EU Trade Meeting.
July 1, 2003... Seoul, July 1 (Yonhap) -- Korea will hold the second meeting of a joint committee with the European Union (EU) from Friday to Monday in Brussels, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Tuesday. The Korean government will point...

Railroad Workers End Strike.
July 1, 2003... Seoul, July 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's state railroad workers called off their strike Tuesday afternoon, apparently giving into tough government action. In an emergency news conference, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, which has...

Production of Renault-Samsung's SM5 Sedan Exceeds 300,000 Units.
July 1, 2003... Seoul, July 1 (Yonhap) -- Renault Samsung Motors said Tuesday the production of its mid-sized SM5 sedan has surpassed the 300,000 mark. The mark was achieved five years and four months after the carmaker began churning out the model in...

Seoul Stocks End Higher Tuesday.
July 1, 2003... Seoul, July 1 (Yonhap) -- Despite an ongoing railway strike, Seoul's main bourse rebounded Tuesday to the 670-point mark with the over-the-counter market rising for the third day to the 50 level. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI),...

Railway Union Likely to End Strike.
July 1, 2003... Seoul, July 1 (Yonhap) -- Railway workers will likely end a four-day strike Tuesday as union leaders are leaning toward seeking dialogue with the government rather than continuing the walkout. The Korean National Railroad union will vote...

S&P Raises LG-Caltex Credit Rating to BBB.
July 1, 2003... Seoul, July 1 (Yonhap) -- Standard and Poor's (S&P) Ratings Services said Tuesday it has upgraded the long-term credit rating of LG-Caltex Oil Corp. to "BBB" from "BBB-." This is based on the company's strong operating performance, improved...

Korea's CDMA Services Launched in Vietnam.
July 1, 2003... Ho Chi Minh City, July 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's third-generation mobile phone services went into full swing in Vietnam, marking the first time that CDMA 2000 1x services have been exported to a foreign country. SLD Telecom, a joint...

Won Rises vs. Dollar for Second Day; Bond Yields Decline.
July 1, 2003... Seoul, July 1 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean won gained against the dollar for the second consecutive day Tuesday to close at 1,190, up 3 from Monday, while the nation's key bond yield dropped 0.03 percentage point to 4.13 percent. Korean...

Hanaro Telecom's Labor Union Calls for Foreign Capital Approval.
July 1, 2003... Seoul, July 1 (Yonhap) -- The labor union of Hanaro Telecom Inc. called Tuesday for the approval of US$450 million worth of foreign capital by its largest stakeholder, the LG group. The union will hold a rally Thursday against LG in front of...

Subway, Railway Service Hampered on Fourth Day of Strike.
July 1, 2003... Seoul, July 1 (Yonhap) -- Amid growing prospects for the devastating railway strike to end sooner or later, the abnormal operation of subways and railways is continuing, making commuters suffer enormous inconveniences. As of 8 a.m. on...

Korean Firms' Profits Expected to Fall in Second Quarter.
July 1, 2003... Seoul, July 1 (Yonhap) -- A weak ahead of "earning season," when South Korean and U.S. companies release their quarterly business results, Korean firms are projected to have less profits in the second quarter, according to the Korea Stock...

Foreign Direct Investment Plunges in First Five Months of 2003.
July 1, 2003... Seoul, July 1 (Yonhap) -- The nation's balance of direct investment has been getting worse as foreign direct investment (FDI) has been decreasing this year, with local firms transferring their production facilities overseas, according to the...

Seven Card Firms Increase Capital by 2.3 Trillion Won in 1st Half.
July 1, 2003... Seoul, July 1 (Yonhap) -- Seven South Korean credit card companies increased their capital by 2.3 trillion won (US$1.93 billion), 120 billion larger than their original plans, in the first half, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC)...

Won Opens Higher Against Dollar On Yen's Strength.
July 1, 2003... Seoul, July 1 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean won started higher against the dollar Tuesday on the yen's strength against the greenback. The local currency opened at 1,191.50 won to the dollar, up 1.50 won from Monday. The won usually moves in...

Roh Says Railway Strike About to End.
July 1, 2003... Seoul, June 30 (Yonhap) -- President Roh Moo-hyun said Monday night that railway workers' strike would likely end soon. "I think the railway strike is likely to end within tonight," said Roh at dinner at the presidential house with participants...

Korea Exported 4,018 Different Items in 2001: KITA.
July 1, 2003... Seoul, July 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korea exported 4,018 different items which were each worth more than US$50,000 in 2001, with a presence in 80.9 percent of the world's markets, the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) said Tuesday. ...

DPM Kim Reiterates Hard-line Stance on Striking Rail Workers.
July 1, 2003... Seoul, July 1 (Yonhap) -- Deputy Prime Minister for Economy Kim Jin-pyo reiterated Tuesday that the government will get tough on the on-going strike by state railway workers. In a meeting with the heads of the nation's five major economic...

Gov't to Hold Policy Meeting Wednesday to Address Economic Slump.
July 1, 2003... Seoul, July 1 (Yonhap) -- The Ministry of Finance and Economy (MOFE) said Tuesday the government will hold a financial policy consultative meeting Wednesday to find ways to tackle the current economic slump. Participants in the meeting...

Seoul Stocks Begin Mixed Tuesday.
July 1, 2003... Seoul, July 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's main bourse started weaker Tuesday on program selling, while the over-the-counter KOSDAQ opened stronger. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index, the barometer of the Korea Stock Exchange, opened 3.48...

Domestic Companies Move Overseas for Better Business Conditions.
July 1, 2003... By Sohn Suk-joo Seoul, July 1 (Yonhap) -- Overseas relocation of domestic companies is gaining momentum with a series of strikes and myriad government regulations chipping away at corporate competitiveness, according to industry sources...

Gov't Begins to Punish Striking Railway Workers.
July 1, 2003... Seoul, July 1 (Yonhap) -- The Ministry of Construction and Transportation said Tuesday it has stripped 630 striking rail workers of their assigned positions and begun procedures to punish 104 of them. "Irrespective of the continuance of the...

ING Barings Drops Plan for Additional Investment in Kookmin Bank.
July 1, 2003... Seoul, July 1 (Yonhap) -- Dutch financial group ING Barings has reportedly shelved its plan to make an additional capital investment in Kookmin Bank, South Korea's largest commercial bank. Banking sources said Tuesday ING Barings' move is...

Korea Oil Corp. to Produce Crude Oil in Vietnamese Sea.
July 1, 2003... Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Vietnam, June 30 (Yonhap) -- Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC) said Monday it would start producing crude oil from an underseas lot some 50 kilometers south of the Ba Ria-Vung Tau region of southern Vietnam, from...

Korea Posts Trade Surplus of $2.35 Billion Last Month.
July 1, 2003... Seoul, July 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korea recorded a trade surplus of US$2.35 billion last month, the largest monthly amount since December 1999, according to preliminary figures issued Tuesday by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy....

KNR Gears Up For Damage Suit Against Labor Union.
July 2, 2003... Seoul, July 2 (Yonhap) -- The Korean National Railroad (KNR) said Wednesday that it has initiated procedures for a damage suit against the masterminds of the just-ended strike by unionized railway workers. In its initial move, the...

Gov't to Enhance Protection of Bank Data Processing Systems.
July 2, 2003... Seoul, July 2 (Yonhap) -- The government is formulating plans to more effectively deal with disruptions to transaction processing systems of banks, the Ministry of Finance and Economy (MOFE) said Wednesday. The ministry said top...

DPM Kim Says Talks Underway to Increase Size of Extra Budget.
July 2, 2003... Seoul, July, 2 (Yonhap) -- Deputy Prime Minister for Finance and Economy Kim Jin-pyo said Wednesday discussions to increase the size of this year's supplementary budget have already begun. Speaking to reporters after attending a seminar...

DPM Kim Says Talks are Underway to Increase Size of Extra Budget.
July 2, 2003... Seoul, July, 2 (Yonhap) -- Deputy Prime Minister for Finance and Economy Kim Jin-pyo said Wednesday that discussions on increasing the size of this year's supplementary budget have already begun. Speaking to reporters after attending a...

DPM Kim Says Gov't will Focus on Helping People Pay Back Dues.
July 2, 2003... Seoul, July 2 (Yonhap) -- Deputy Prime Minister for Finance and Economy Kim Jin-pyo said Wednesday the government will redouble its efforts to help credit delinquents pay back their debts. Speaking at a seminar hosted by the Seoul Economic...

North Korea Confirms Participation in Daegu Universiade.
July 2, 2003... Daegu, July 2 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has confirmed its participation in the Daegu Summer Universiade next month, the organizing committee said Wednesday. North Korea's International Olympic Committee (IOC) member Chang Ung gave the...

Nothing Decided on N.K.'s Use of Land Route for Universiade: Gov't.
July 2, 2003... Seoul, July 2 (Yonhap) -- The government said Wednesday North Korea has not yet formally proposed using a land route to travel South to participate in next month's Daegu Summer Universiade. Once a formal request is made, the government...

North Korea's Participation in Daegu Universiade Confirmed.
July 2, 2003... Daegu, July 2 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has confirmed its participation in the Daegu Summer Universiade next month, the organizing committee said Wednesday. The North's International Olympic Committee (IOC) member Chang Ung gave the...

Roh Demands Assembly Cooperate for Passage of Supplementary Budget.
July 2, 2003... Seoul, July 2 (Yonhap) -- President Roh Moo-hyun called on the head of parliament Wednesday to cooperate for the passage of a supplementary budget proposal totaling 4.17 trillion won ($US3.5 billion). In an unprecedented letter to National...

Goh Pledges to Make Pyeongchang Olympics of Peace, Reconciliation.
July 2, 2003... Prague, July 2 (Yonhap) -- Prime Minister Goh Kun said Tuesday that South and North Korea would field a joint team for the 2010 Winter Olympics, thereby embodying the Olympic spirit of peace and reconciliation, if the South's Pyeonchang is...

Japanese Senior Official to Visit South Korea Thursday.
July 2, 2003... Seoul, July 2 (Yonhap) -- Japan's Senior Vice Foreign Minister Tetsuro Yano will make a two-day trip to South Korea from Thursday to meet officials for discussions on follow-up measures to the recent summit between the leaders of the two...

S-N Civic Group Officials to Meet for Talks on Joint Festivity.
July 2, 2003... Seoul, July 2 (Yonhap) -- Civilian delegates from South and North Korea will meet in North Korea this weekend to discuss joint programs to mark their countries' liberation from Japanese colonial rule in 1945, officials said Wednesday. ...

Former President Kim's Right-hand Man Acquitted.
July 2, 2003... Seoul, July 2 (Yonhap) -- Seoul District Court Wednesday overturned the guilty verdict handed down to former President Kim Dae-jung's right-hand man for accepting bribes from a jailed venture businessman. Kwon Roh-kap was found guilty of...

Lee Seoung-youp's 300th Home Run Ball Pitched into Controversy.
July 2, 2003... Seoul, July 2 (Yonhap) -- The ball with which South Korea's Samsung Lions slugger Lee Seoung-youp became the youngest player ever to hit 300 home runs is at the center of an international controversy as the fan who caught it looks set to sell...

Employers, Gov't Clash Over New Labor Model.
July 2, 2003... Seoul, July 2 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's government and employers groups are locked in an escalating conflict over how to deal with illegal labor strikes and the future model of labor-management relations. In a statement issued...

Seoul Officials Say High Explosives Test Site of No Great Concern.
July 2, 2003... Seoul, July 2 (Yonhap) -- Seoul officials reacted stoically to a New York Times report that North Korea was trying to develop small nuclear warheads to place atop mid and long-range missiles, and raised suspicions that the U.S. government...

Two Koreas to Hold Cabinet-Level Talks Next Week.
July 2, 2003... Seoul, July 2 (Yonhap) -- South and North Korea confirmed their earlier plans Wednesday to hold a new round of ministerial talks in Seoul next week despite the tension over the North's nuclear program. When Cabinet-level officials of the two...

KCTU, Metal and Textile Workers Stage Nationwide Strike.
July 2, 2003... Seoul, July 2 (Yonhap) -- Over 90,000 unionists nationwide staged a sympathy strike Wednesday demanding a five-day workweek and government measures against industrial hazards. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), the more...

Separated Family Members Bid Farewell to Relatives in N.K.
July 2, 2003... Mount Geumgang, North Korea, July 2 (Yonhap) -- A group of 472 South Korean separated family members bid farewell to 100 elderly North Korean relatives at Mount Geumgang Wednesday. The South Korean delegation watched their Northern...

Weapons Seized by Spain Are Legitimate Exports: Defense Ministry.
July 2, 2003... Seoul, July 2 (Yonhap) -- Hundreds of machine guns and rifles that Spanish authorities discovered and seized from a South Korean cargo vessel in its territorial waters are legitimate export items, the Defense Ministry said Wednesday. The...

N.K. Agrees to Hold Talks with U.S. over Remains of U.S. Soldiers.
July 2, 2003... Pyongyang, July 2 (KCNA-Yonhap) -- North Korea said Wednesday it will accept a U.S. proposal to resume talks on recovering the remains of thousands of U.S. soldiers killed in the Korean War. The recovery operations in North Korea began in...

Officials Deny Report on North Korean Nuclear Testing Site.
July 2, 2003... Seoul, July 2 (Yonhap) -- A senior South Korean official said Wednesday that he could not confirm a U.S. media report that North Korea is developing the technology to make nuclear warheads small enough to fit atop the country's arsenal of...

Roh Pledges Efforts to Raise Per Capita Income to US$20,000.
July 2, 2003... Seoul, July 2 (Yonhap) -- President Roh Moo-hyun pledged Wednesday that the government would try to lay the groundwork to raise the country's per capita income to US$20,000. In a meeting with Cheong Wa Dae staff, Roh said he hopes that...

S. Korean Red Cross Plans Concert for Inter-Korean Peace.
July 2, 2003... Seoul, July 2 (Yonhap) -- The (South) Korean National Red Cross said Wednesday it is pushing for a "peace concert" to be participated in by musicians from South and North Korea. Suh Young-hoon, head of the organization, said he offered the...

Two Koreas to Hold Cabinet-Level Talks Next Wednesday.
July 2, 2003... Seoul, July 2 (Yonhap) -- South and North Korea agreed Wednesday to hold four-day inter-Korean ministerial talks next Wednesday at a hotel in Seoul. The agreement was finally confirmed in a meeting with liaison officers at the border...

U.S. Declines to Comment on NYT Reports of N.K. Nuke Testing Site.
July 2, 2003... Washington, July 1 (Yonhap) -- The U.S. State Department Tuesday declined to comment on a U.S. media report that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had detected an advanced testing site in North Korea used to make small nuclear warheads....

Gov't to Enhance Protection of Bank Data Processing Systems.
July 2, 2003... Seoul, July 2 (Yonhap) -- The government will formulate plans to enhance its ability to deal with disruptions to transaction processing systems of banks, the Ministry of Finance and Economy (MOFE) said Wednesday. The ministry said top...

Rail Operations Almost Normalized as Workers End Strike.
July 2, 2003... Seoul, July 2 (Yonhap) -- Railway services had almost returned to normal Wednesday morning as unionized railroad workers brought their four-day strike to a close. The Korea National Railroad (KORAIL) said metropolitan commuter train...