The following is the second summary of major stories moved by Yonhap News Agency on Thursday.
(LEAD) N. Korea preparing ICBM launch or other provocations for S. Korea-U.S.-Japan summit: spy agency
SEOUL — North Korea is preparing to carry out various military provocations, including the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), on the occasion of the upcoming trilateral summit among South Korea, the United States and Japan or the South Korea-U.S. military exercise, a lawmaker said Thursday.
Rep. Yoo Sang-bum of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) made the remarks, citing what the National Intelligence Service (NIS) reported to a closed session of the parliamentary intelligence committee.
(LEAD) N. Korean leader bolsters personality cult with use of title ‘President’: Seoul
SEOUL — North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has reduced his public activity in recent years but has accelerated his personality cult by using the title reserved for the country’s late founder, South Korea’s unification ministry said Thursday.
Kim was referred to with the title “President” on 26 occasions in state media reports in the first seven months of this year, up from 23 in 2022 and four in 2020, according to data from the ministry.
N. Korean athletes, believed to be attending taekwondo event in Kazakhstan, arrive in Beijing
BEIJING — A group of North Korean athletes, who are believed to be attending an international taekwondo event in Kazakhstan this weekend, arrived in Beijing on Thursday, according to scenes witnessed by Yonhap News Agency.
The arrival of the North Korean team in Beijing is seen as another step in the North’s reopening after senior Russian and Chinese officials participated in a military parade in Pyongyang last month.
2 German Scouts injured in motorcycle crash on Jeju Island
JEJU, South Korea — German Scout twins were injured Thursday after a motorcycle they were riding crashed onto roadside curbstones on the southern resort island of Jeju, police said.
The twin sisters, 18, were riding a motorcycle together when the vehicle bumped onto the curbstones on a road in Jeju’s Seogwipo at 12:36 p.m. and fell down, according to officials.
(LEAD) Seoul shares fall to 3-month low on U.S. rate hikes, China woes
SEOUL — South Korean stocks fell to a three-month low Thursday as investors were wary of the Federal Reserve’s further rate hikes and potential risks in China’s real estate sector. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 5.79 points, or 0.23 percent, to close at 2,519.85, its fifth consecutive loss. It was the lowest level since May 18, when the KOSPI ended at 2,515.4.
Celltrion to merge with sales affiliate Celltrion Healthcare
SEOUL — South Korea’s major pharmaceutical firm Cellltrion Inc. said Thursday it will merge with its sales and marketing affiliate Celltrion Healthcare Co. in a bid to become a global drugmaker by streamlining its key operational structure.
The company said in a regulatory filing that the merger is aimed at growing into a global big pharmaceutical firm with biosimilars and new drugs by “consolidating assets for large-scale investment.”
S. Korea welcomes U.S. sanctions against arms trade between N. Korea, Russia
SEOUL — South Korea’s foreign ministry on Thursday welcomed sanctions announced by the United States this week against three entities involved in illicit arms deals between North Korea and Russia.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Controls (OFAC) on Wednesday imposed sanctions on Verus LLC, Defense Engineering LLP and Versor SRO, all of which are owned or led by Slovakian national Ashot Mkrtychev.
Listed firms’ H1 net profit more than halves on sluggish exports
SEOUL — Net profit of listed South Korean companies plunged nearly 58 percent in the first half from a year earlier, the bourse operator said Thursday, amid a slump in exports and a global economic slowdown.
The consolidated net profit of 615 companies listed on the main KOSPI bourse was 37.7 trillion won (US$28.1 billion) in the January-June period, down from 89.6 trillion won during the same period last year, according to the Korea Exchange (KRX).
Musinsa to design S. Korean team’s uniforms for ceremonies of Hangzhou Asian Games, Paris Olympics
SEOUL — Musinsa Co., a South Korean fashion platform, said Thursday it will design the official ceremony uniforms of the country’s athlete team for the upcoming Hangzhou Asian Games and 2024 Paris Olympics.
Musinsa Standard, a new basic style casual wear brand under Musinsa, signed a memorandum of understanding with the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee on Wednesday to create Team South Korea’s official uniforms for the opening and closing ceremonies of the two major sports events, according to the company.
Source: Yonhap News Agency