A Summary of Yonhap News | Presented by Yonhap News Agency – Update

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

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N. Korea showcases ICBMs at military parade attended by Kim Jong-un on armistice anniv.

SEOUL — North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attended a nighttime military parade in Pyongyang earlier this week to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War, state media said Friday.

With senior delegations from China and Russia present, Kim took to the reviewing stand to observe the military parade held in Kim Il Sung Square late Thursday, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

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Police conclude no hazardous substance in suspicious int’l parcels

SEOUL — Police have concluded that no hazardous substances were found in thousands of suspicious international parcels that had sparked fears of terrorism, officials said Friday.

Police had been looking into whether terrorism was involved after thousands of international parcels received nationwide were reported to authorities for suspicions of containing suspicious substances.

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Gov’t decides to refer 36 people for investigation over deadly underpass flooding

SEOUL — The government said Friday that it will refer an additional 18 people to the prosecution for investigation, accusing them of mishandling the deadly flooding of an underpass in the central city of Cheongju earlier this month, which claimed 14 lives.

The Office for Government Policy Coordination, under the Prime Minister’s Office, conducted an inspection to determine the causes behind the tragic flooding and detected criminal suspicions involving a total of 36 people.

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Yoon names new chief of state broadcasting watchdog

SEOUL — President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday nominated Lee Dong-kwan, his special adviser for external relations, as the new chief of the Korea Communications Commission, the state broadcasting watchdog, his office said.

If appointed, Lee will replace Han Sang-hyuk, who was dismissed by Yoon in May after being indicted by prosecutors on charges of involvement in giving low scores to right-wing cable channel TV Chosun during the process of renewing its broadcasting license in 2020.

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S. Korean, Austrian FMs hold talks on trade, supply chain cooperation

SEOUL — The top diplomats of South Korea and Austria held consultations to discuss cooperation on supply chain issues and other areas of mutual interest, Seoul’s foreign ministry said Friday.

In the meeting held in Salzburg on Thursday, Foreign Minister Park Jin and his Austrian counterpart, Alexander Schallenberg, agreed to closely cooperate in promoting bilateral trade and investment in the fields of batteries, electric vehicles and semiconductors.

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Cigarette sales in S. Korea slightly down in H1

SEOUL — Sales of cigarettes in South Korea moved down 0.6 percent on-year in the January-June period, data showed Friday.

South Korean smokers purchased 1.77 billion 20-cigarette packs in the first half, falling from 17.8 billion packs posted a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

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(3rd LD) Industrial output, consumption, investment rise for 2nd month in June

SEOUL — South Korea’s industrial output, private spending and investment rose for a second consecutive month in June amid an economic slowdown, data showed Friday.

The country’s industrial output increased 0.1 percent in June from a month earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea.

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Seoul shares down late Fri. morning on tech losses

SEOUL — South Korean stocks traded lower late Friday morning, led by top-cap tech losses on profit-taking, amid lingering concerns about continued monetary tightening by major economies.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) had lost 21.02 points, or 0.81 percent, to 2,613.83 as of 11:20 a.m.
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