Yonhap News Summary

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

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(2nd LD) New cases dip below 30 again, social distancing still urged

SEOUL -- South Korea on Monday saw its daily number of coronavirus infections fall below 30 again, but health authorities said that the country should not let its guard down against the pandemic, urging people to keep up social distancing.

The 25 new cases, detected Sunday and down from 32 a day ago, brought the nation's total infections to 10,537, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).

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(3rd LD) N.K. holds parliamentary meeting two days later than scheduled without explanation

SEOUL -- North Korea has held a long-anticipated session of its rubber-stamp legislature two days later than originally scheduled, state media reported Monday without explaining why the meeting was delayed.

Leader Kim Jong-un apparently did not attend the Supreme People's Assembly meeting held Sunday as the official Korean Central News Agency said the country's No. 2 leader, Choe Ryong-hae, presided over the session.

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(LEAD) All U.S. arrivals to get tested within 3 days of self-isolation

SEOUL -- All arrivals from the United States are to be tested for the new coronavirus within three days of self-isolation, starting Monday, health authorities said.

The strengthened measure against COVID-19 began midnight, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).

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(Yonhap Feature) S. Korean voters to pick lawmakers amid unprecedented coronavirus pandemic

SEOUL -- Shin Hyeon-jung, a 35-year-old office worker, has refrained from meeting friends or having gatherings for months to practice social distancing to fight against the new coronavirus.

But the virus scare will not prevent her from casting a ballot in this week' parliamentary elections as she believes quarantine measures to be implemented at polling stations will make her feel safe.

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(2nd LD) S. Korea's exports drop 18.6 pct in first 10 days of April amid virus fallout

SEOUL -- South Korea's exports fell sharply from a year earlier in the first 10 days of April amid the economic fallout from the new coronavirus, customs data showed Monday.

The country's outbound shipments came to US$12.2 billion in the April 1-10 period, down 18.6 percent from the same period a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service.

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New uncertainty haunts S. Korea-U.S. defense cost-sharing talks

SEOUL -- Renewed uncertainty is hanging over defense cost-sharing talks between South Korea and the United States after President Donald Trump's reported rejection of a tentative deal to end their monthslong impasse feared to erode the alliance.

The prolonged tug of war between the allies has fanned concerns that it could undercut their efforts for robust defense, as thousands of Korean workers of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) have been furloughed in the absence of a deal to fund their wages.

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Unemployment allowance payments hit new high in March

SEOUL -- The amount of state allowances paid to those unemployed or seeking jobs soared to a record high of nearly 900 billion won (US$738 million) in March, data showed Monday, due largely to the negative economic impact from the coronavirus outbreak.

According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the government paid 898.2 billion won in allowances to those struggling to find jobs last month, which marked an increase of 40.4 percent from 639.7 billion won paid in the same month last year.

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(Yonhap Interview) Ex-MLB pitcher Aaron Brooks wants to stick to strengths in 1st KBO season

SEOUL -- As he gears up for his first season in South Korea, former major league pitcher Aaron Brooks will look to keep his focus on what he can do on the mound, rather than on what opposing hitters can't do.

"I am not one to look at a whole lot of video from other hitters only because I try to stick to my strengths rather than the hitters' weakness," Brooks, the new right-hander for the Kia Tigers, told Yonhap News Agency in an email interview last Thursday. "Even though a hitter might show he can't hit a certain pitch or doesn't like certain pitches, (that) doesn't mean I need to necessarily throw those pitches if they aren't my best.
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