Yonhap News Summary

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

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(LEAD) Front-runner Moon on the defensive after memo disclosed on N.K. rights vote

SEOUL -- A former top diplomat on Friday disclosed a document to back up his claim that Seoul officials consulted North Korea before a key U.N. vote in 2007. It added fuel to a political fire that has engulfed presidential front-runner Moon Jae-in, who was then in charge as a chief presidential aide.

In October, Song Min-soon published a memoir in which he said that South Korea abstained in a vote for the 2007 U.N. resolution on North Korea's human rights violations after discussing the issue with Pyongyang officials.

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(LEAD) S. Korea expresses disappointment over Japan politicians' visit to shrine

SEOUL -- South Korea voiced its "deep disappointment" on Friday after Japanese politicians paid their respects at the controversial Yasukuni Shrine, which honors Japan's war criminals.

Around 90 Japanese lawmakers visited the shrine earlier in the day to mark an annual spring festival, Japan's Kyodo News reported. They included Seiichi Eto, an aide to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Abe also sent a ritual offering, the report said.

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(LEAD) N. Korea mounts campaign to thwart conservatives in S. Korean election

SEOUL -- North Korea has recently been churning out propaganda to stop conservatives from taking power in South Korea's presidential election.

This week alone, a number of North Korean organizations attacked conservative political parties and their presidential candidates in an apparent bid to sway voter sentiment in favor of liberals.

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S. Korea, World Bank agree to widen cooperation

SEJONG -- South Korea's finance minister held a meeting with the president of the World Bank Group (WBG) to discuss ways to expand the country's participation in the organization, the ministry here said Friday.

Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho met with WBG President Jim Yong Kim in Washington on Thursday (local time) on the sidelines of the Group of 20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting. The gathering runs from Thursday through Friday.

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(LEAD) Presidential front-runner Moon widens gap with runner-up: poll

SEOUL -- Presidential front-runner Moon Jae-in widened his lead in a new opinion poll released Friday as runner-up Ahn Cheol-soo's numbers plummeted.

Moon, a former leader of the liberal Democratic Party, garnered an approval rating of 41 percent, up 1 percentage point from last week, while Ahn, co-founder of the center-left People's Party, declined 7 points to 30 percent, according to Gallup Korea.

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