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Early Edition 18:00
(THIS IS THE TRANSCRIPT FOR ARIRANG NEWS THAT AIRED ON 19 Aug 2013- 18:00 KST.)
Title: Headlines
On tonight's Early Edition at Six.
Reunion for separated families is confirmed... the two sides are working on where it should
be held. Plus, Pyongyang expressed eagerness to restart
the Mt. Geumgang tour as well.
South Korea and the U.S. have kicked off their annual 12-day joint training exercise named
Ulchi Freedom Guardian drill. The combined exercise that mobilizes more
than 80 thousand troops is usually met with condemnation by Pyongyang... but that wasn't
the case this year.
More than 8-hundred-thirty people have been killed in Egypt since security forces forcibly
broke up two pro-Morsy protest camps in Cairo. Reason enough for countries providing aid
to Egypt to urgently review their relations with the nation.
These and more coming up, so stay with us.
Title: Early Edition at 18 Title
Title:
It is 4 a.m. in Panama City,... noon in Tel Aviv and six on a Monday evening here in Seoul.
Welcome to Early Edition at Six... I'm Han Da-eun,... filling in for Moon Conn-young
this week. And I'm Daniel Choy.
We start with the details that still need to be ironed out for inter-Korean talks.
Title: S. Korea: Talks over family reunions, Mt. Geumgang tours to be dealt with separately
While North Korea has accepted Seoul's proposal for talks on resuming family reunions, the
two sides have yet to decide on the venue. The South also has not responded to the North's
offer for talks on reopening the Mount Geumgang resort to South Korean tourists.
Hwang Sung-hee has the details. South Korea said Monday that talks on resuming reunions
for separated families and on reopening the Mount Geumgang resort to South Korean tourists
will be dealt with as two separate issues.
"The South Korean government will deliver our stance on the issue to the public after
a thorough review of the overall situation."
On Sunday, North Korea proposed to hold fresh talks this Thursday on resuming South Korean
tours to the Mount Geumgang resort, offering to discuss Seoul's concerns like ensuring
personal safety and protecting South Korean properties.
The resort has been closed to South Koreans since 2008, after a tourist from the South
was fatally shot by a North Korean guard. And while the North accepted Seoul's offer
for Red Cross talks on resuming reunions for families separated during the Korean War on
Friday, the two are engaged in a tug-of-war on the venue of the meeting.
Pyongyang has proposed to meet at the Mount Geumgang resort, while Seoul has reiterated
that the truce village of Panmunjom is the most ideal location due to the convenience
of its location. Meanwhile, a South Korean communications and
power inspection team made its second trip to Gaeseong on Monday to check up on the facilities
at the complex, which have been closed for four months now.
Hwang Sung-hee, Arirang News.
Title: S. Korea, U.S. kick off annual joint training exercises
While the two Koreas are making efforts to revive dialogue, South Korea and the U.S.
have started their joint training exercise, the Ulchi Freedom Guardian.
But unlike in the past, Pyongyang has so far refrained from condemning the drills.
Our Kim Hyun-bin reports. South Korea and the U.S. have kicked off on Monday their annual
12-day joint training exercise. The computer simulation aided joint Ulchi
Freedom Guardian drill mobilizes roughly 50-thousand Koreans and 30-thousand U.S. troops.
The main purpose of the exercise is to maintain security on the Korean peninsula, while upholding
joint defense capabilities between the two allies.
In this year's exercise, observers from the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission, which
ensures the implementation of the Korean War Armistice agreement, along with seven countries
in the United Nations Command will monitor the drills.
Along with this military exercise, Seoul has launched its annual four-day local emergency
drill to measure the government's readiness for dealing with terrorist situations and
military threats from the North. Unlike other years in which North Korea has
lashed out against the joint exercises, North Korea has so far kept mum on the issue, with
experts saying it is due to recent progress on inter-Korean relations.
Pyongyang had conventionally condemned the joint training drills claiming they are a
prelude to war, disregarding Seoul and Washington's argument that they are for defense purposes
only. The two Koreas remain technically at war after
the Korean War ended with an armistice agreement. Kim Hyun-bin, Arirang News.
Title: Pres. Park convenes special Ulchi Cabinet meeting
President Park Geun-hye has emphasized the importance of maintaining a firm national
security posture at all times,... saying crises often come in moments of peace when a country
has taken its mind off of war. At a special Cabinet meeting on the first
day of the annual Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise,... President Park said... preparing for a national
emergency situation is indispensable when it comes to keeping the nation safe.
She ordered all government offices to actively participate in this year's drills to train
for real-life situations. In underlining her determination to fully
prepare for any contigency, the president also convened a National Security Council
meeting for the first time since taking office in February.
Title: President Park orders Cabinet to tackle soaring "jeonse" prices
President Park Geun-hye has ordered her Cabinet to come up with measures to tackle skyrocketing
rental prices here in Korea, and pledged to do what she can to help solve the problem.
Our presidential office correspondent Eoh Jin-joo reports. "Crazy jeonse prices."
This is how Koreans these days are describing Korea's unique housing system of lump-sum
rental deposits. The country's unstable housing market has
even forced people with enough money to buy their own homes outright to turn to long-term
leases,... pushing up the jeonse prices even higher.
The year-on-year increase in jeonse prices of apartments in the Seoul metropolitan area
has doubled since last year to 4-point-8 percent this year.
With more of a burden on the nation's middle class, commercial banks in Korea have announced
plans to raise the limit for jeonse loans in the coming days.
However,... President Park says... the measures aren't enough and will not fundamentally solve
the problem. During a Cabinet meeting Monday morning,...
President Park ordered her Cabinet members to work together with political parties...
to come up with regulations that could allow both lessors and lessees to make "reasonable
and predictable" contracts. She vowed to put top priority on the matter
during the latter half of the year.
"The president also promised to focus on revitalizing the economy and creating more jobs. In particular,
she called on the National Assembly to quickly pass the revised Foreigner Investment Promotion
bill, which would ease regulations on foreign companies."
She pointed out that more than 1-point-8 billion dollars in foreign investment has been put
on hold due to a delay in the passage of the bill, and stressed that it would be a huge
loss for the country, should the foreign companies scrap their investment plans in Korea and
take them to other countries instead. Eoh Jin-joo, Arirang News.
Title: Lawmakers question former, incumbent NIS agents
A line of current and former National Intelligence Service agents and police officers took witness
stand at the National Assembly today... as part of an ongoing parliamentary probe into
allegations that the spy agency meddled in last year's presidential election.
Kim Yeon-ji reports. At Monday's hearing involving NIS agents, a giant screen wall was set up
so that their faces could not be seen. Behind the wall were two active, and two inactive
agents. A female NIS agent, who stands accused of
posting negative online comments about opposition presidential candidates before the December
election, was among them. The agent said... she was only fulfilling
her duties as an agent.
"I never received orders to meddle in the presidential election. I only did my duties
to respond to North Korea's propaganda online."
But the agent refused to answer many of the questions posed, saying she didn't want to
incriminate herself in the event she is put on trial at a later date.
Kwon Eun-hee, a police officer who led the investigation into the spy agency's scandal
at Seoul's Suseo Police Station, said she received a phone call from former Seoul Metropolitan
Police chief Kim Yong-pan on December 16th. Kwon said... that Kim told her not to file
a request for a warrant to search the apartment from where the NIS agent was found to have
posted sensitive political comments.
"What Kim Yong-pan did was unfair, because it tampered with our investigation at Suseo
station."
Kwon said she had asked the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency to analyze all files saved in
the female NIS agent's computer, including 100 keywords.
But she said the police agency cut that number down to just four... and then released the
results of the investigation at 11 p.m. on December 16th,... just three days before the
election.
"Other high-ranking NIS agents at the hearing said there may posted comments online that
others may have judged as being 'inappropriate' or 'problematic'. But they claimed they only
posted them to effectively counter North Korean propaganda in cyberspace."
Kim Yeon-ji, Arirang News.
Title: Boeing's F-15SE likely to win Korea's $7.4 bil. fighter jet deal
When the South Korean government announces the winner of its 7-point-4 billion dollar
contract to buy 60 advanced fighter jets next month,... it appears likely that the Boeing
F-15 Silent Eagle... will get the nod. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration
said Sunday... that one of the two remaining finalists had been disqualified after abruptly
changing its contractual terms. The bidder was later said to be the European
Aeronautic Defence and Space Company with its Eurofighter Typhoon.
The multi-billion dollar competition was narrowed to a two-way race between Boeing and EADS
last week... after the two firms made bids within Korea's budget.
Title: UN team launches N. Korean human rights investigation in Seoul
A three-member UN panel will officially begin its investigation into North Korea's human
rights abuses today. Members of the Commission of Inquiry,... who
arrived in Seoul over the weekend, were scheduled to meet with South Korean officials as well
as a number of leading human rights activists on Monday.
Starting Tuesday, the group will hold hearings for five days at Yonsei University, where
some 30 witnesses are expected to testify about the North's human rights violations,
including torture and arbitrary detention. The panel's findings will be presented at
the UN General Assembly in New York in October. A final report will be submitted to the UN
Human Rights Council next March.
Title: Samsung maintains top place in Europe's TV market
Samsung Electronics, the world's largest television manufacturer, held its top place in the European
TV market for the first half of this year. The Korean tech giant posted a market share
of 38 percent in the January to June period,... according to data by market research company
GfK. Samsung made up for almost 40 percent of Europe's
LED television market,... and accounted for more than 44 percent in the 3D and smart TV
markets. LG Electronics came in second with a market
share of 16-point-six percent,... followed by Phillips at nine-point-nine percent.
Title: Egyptian military says room for all, but demands end to violence
Turning now to the ongoing crisis in Egypt... The country's military has declared that it
will not tolerate any further violent protests... as security forces continue to arrest hundreds
of members of ousted president Mohammed Morsy's Muslim Brotherhood.
Ji Myung-kil reports. Addressing the current unrest, Egypt army
chief... General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi went on state TV Sunday to say there was room for
people of all political and religious persuasions to live together in Egypt.
But he also warned the military would not be silent in the face of violence.
"The will of the Egyptian people is free and they can choose whoever they want to rule
them. The army and the police right now are the guardians of the will of the people."
Some welcomed the statement, saying violence should not be tolerated within the country.
"To be honest what he is saying is correct. We reject violence whether it is on one side
or the other. Egyptians are the ones dying and further bloodshed should be forbidden."
Supporters of deposed President Morsy and those protesting the military coup are faced
with growing uncertainty as more leaders of Morsy's Muslim Brotherhood are arrested by
the day. The army enforced a dawn-to-dusk curfew in
the Egyptian capital Cairo on Sunday with soldiers standing by in armored vehicles and
manned checkpoints. The military unseated Morsy on July 3rd after
millions of Egyptians took to the streets to demand that he step down as he failed to
show commitment to democracy. More than 8-hundred-thirty people have been
killed in Egypt since security forces forcibly broke up two pro-Morsy protest camps in Cairo
last Wednesday. Ji Myung-kil, Arirang News.
Title: Sakurajima volcano erupts in Japan
A volcano in southern Japan erupted Sunday,... shooting up a giant plume of smoke into the
air. Large amounts of volcanic ash fell in the
region,... causing delays in public transport and forcing people to take cover.
Kim Min-ji has the details. An ash cloud loomed over southern Japan after Mount Sakurajima
erupted on Sunday afternoon,... blasting an ash plume of thousands of meters into the
air and casting a dark spell over the region. The 1-thousand-117 meter,... or 3-thousand-665
feet,... volcano near Kagoshima City began to erupt around 4:30 p.m. local time.
Volcanic ash swept the northern and central parts of the city,... causing a delay in train
services,... while drivers had to use their headlights in broad daylight.
Residents of Kagoshima and tourists used handkerchiefs to cover their mouths and wore masks for protection,...
while others shielded themselves with umbrellas. No injuries or deaths have been reported.
The plume of smoke reached a spectacular height of 5-thousand meters,... the highest record
since data was complied in 1955. The Japanese meteorological observatory also
reported a pyroclastic flow -- a current of gas and rock -- discovered roughly one kilometer
southeast down the slope of the volcano. Sunday's eruption of Mount Sakurajima was
the 5-hundredth this year,... which is about 950 kilometers southwest of Tokyo.
Kim Min-ji, Arirang News.
Title: Korean firms lower gift prices ahead of Chuseok holiday
Chuseok, one of Korea's biggest holidays is just about one month away now, and households
are already thinking ahead, preparing gifts for family and friends.
In response to the sluggish economy, local retail chains are slashing prices to attract
customers and ensure higher sales. Our Paul Yi shows us the latest consumer trends
hitting local markets. Operations here at a gift set packaging plant in Incheon are
in full-swing, with employees gearing up for one of the busiest retail seasons ahead of
the Chuseok holiday. The factory plant has been running non-stop
since last month, as more than half of Korea's annually produced cooking oil is expected
to be sold through holiday gift sets this year.
Major retail chains are already showcasing this year's line of Korean Thanksgiving gifts
on store shelves. However due to a tough economic times, consumer
tastes have shifted towards more frugal and practical gift ideas.
"Since the cost of goods has gone up, I'm thinking of getting medium- to low-priced
household items. Things like toothpaste or cooking oil are what I have in mind right
now."
High food prices and fierce competition resulted in lower-than-expected sales numbers last
year among retailers. It's prompted many local companies to shift
their pricing strategy in order to hit the 20 to 30 dollar sweet spot on the majority
of their gift sets. In particular, gift sets with apples and pears
will see a price drop of up to 20 percent compared to last year.
Popular products such as "hanwoo," or Korean beef, will also benefit from a price cut of
up to 10 percent. The price of other traditional gifts such
as dried yellow corvina and anchovies will remain unchanged on-year as an outbreak of
red tide has devastated local fish stocks. Meanwhile, products with mushrooms and mixed
nuts will see a sharp price hike. The Korean market size for Chuseok gift sets
is expected to be worth nearly 448 million U.S. dollars, with an optimistic growth forecast
this year as retailers adjust their product offerings to reflect the prolonged economic
slowdown. Paul Yi, Arirang News.
Title: In
the Spotlight Bridge
Title: Dr. Kim
on 'biological clock'
It's Monday,... and I'm sure many of our viewers living in Korea weren't all that thrilled
to start another week with the heatwave going strong.
And those of you who have just returned from summer vacation,... may be going through an
especially tough time trying to readjust to your daily routine.
Now to give us some tips on how to recover your changed biorhythms,... we're joined by
Dr. Kim Eun-ki ,... professor of biological engineering at Inha University.
Welcome.
So I hear we all have a so-called 'biological clock' in us. How does this clock work?
People have different lifestyles. Some of us are night owls, some of us are morning
people. How does the difference occur?
What kinds of symptoms do we experience when something goes wrong with our biological clock?
Before you go Dr. Kim,... could you give us some tips on how to recover quickly from abrupt
changes in our biorhythm?
Thank you, Dr. Kim.
Title: stocks
Title: Weather Title
Weather Title
Title: Mostly cloudy, chance of rain on Monday night in Gangwon Province
Let's now get a check on the weather with our Hanna Kim. So Hanna, although temperatures
in Seoul are slowly easing up, I hear that there are still heat wave warnings in Gyeongsang
Province.
That's right, Daniel. It's always hard to focus when it's this hot,... and for that
reason, students in the southeastern city of Ulsan have had their school hours shortened.
Well, I guess the children of Ulsan aren't complaining too much about that.
Right, and the shorter school hours will continue until the heat wave alerts are fully lifted.
But the good news is that temperatures are slowly cooling down in the Gyeongsang region. Now tomorrow, it will
still be hot, but not as bad as it's been... and we'll have mostly cloudy skies. Please
also note that there may be some light passing showers tonight in Gangwon Province and in
return, we may see cooler temperatures. Now,...
...if we take a closer look at the forecast,... Seoul will start off the morning at [24] and
reach [34] in the afternoon. Meanwhile, cities in the south like Daegu and Busan will peak
at [33] and [31] degrees, respectively---which is a lot cooler than last week.
Down on Jeju, you'll have mostly cloudy skies with breaks of sun in the daytime. Daejeon
will hit [34], while Dokdo cools off to [27]. Well that's all I have for you today. I'm
Hanna Kim. Have a wonderful evening
That's all from us for this hour. Thank you for watching.
This
has
been
Daniel Choi. And I'm Han Da-eun. Keep it tuned to Arirang
for more news coming up.