Yonhap News Summary

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

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Chinese FM Wang wraps up 3-day trip highlighting close Seoul-Beijing ties

SEOUL -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday wrapped up a three-day visit to South Korea marked by his brisk diplomacy to cement relations between the two countries ahead of a leadership change in the United States.

While in Seoul after a trip to Japan, Wang paid a courtesy call on President Moon Jae-in and met Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and ruling party grandees, in a whirlwind of diplomacy to highlight Beijing's resolve to firm up diplomatic, economic and cultural cooperation with Seoul.

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Moon's adviser calls for S. Korea to break away from 'U.S. or China' framework

SEOUL -- South Korea should work together with Australia, Canada and Japan to form regional economic or security frameworks so as to create a new order free from the burden of choosing sides between the United States and China, an adviser to President Moon Jae-in said Friday.

Moon Chung-in, special foreign policy and security adviser, made the remarks during a virtual seminar, stressing that it is very unlikely the tensions between Washington and Beijing will get any better under the next U.S. administration of Joe Biden.

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(LEAD) Protesters deter shipments of construction materials onto THAAD base in Seongju

SEONGJU, South Korea -- The defense ministry's latest attempt to bring non-weapon materials and construction equipment onto a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) base in central South Korea on Friday ran into fierce protests from local residents and civic activists opposed to the deployment of the American missile defense system.

About 70 residents and activists gathered on a bridge leading to the base for the THAAD system in the central town of Seongju, about 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, to block the approach of dump trucks carrying daily necessities for base troops and construction equipment and materials to be used to improve their living facilities.

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Chinese FM meets parliamentary leader, says Koreas should control their peninsula's 'fate'

SEOUL -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Friday that his country will continue to play a "constructive" role in efforts to bring lasting peace to the Korean Peninsula, emphasizing the two Koreas should decide its "fate" themselves.

"South and North (Korea) are indeed the real owners of the Korean Peninsula. Therefore, the fate of the Korean Peninsula should be handed to both hands of the South and North," Wang said via translator during a courtesy call on National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug.

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(LEAD) N. Korea orders overseas missions not to antagonize U.S.: S. Korea's state intelligence agency

SEOUL -- North Korea has recently ordered its overseas missions not to antagonize the United States amid an ongoing power transition in Washington following the presidential election win by Joe Biden, according to Seoul lawmakers Friday.

The Kim Jong-un regime also executed a big shot in the Pyongyang money change market in late October for a sudden exchange rate fluctuation and an official in August for bringing in prohibited goods amid toughened border customs control due to the new coronavirus pandemic, they quoted South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) as reporting.

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(LEAD) Seoul stocks hit new all-time high; Korean won at 29-month high

SEOUL -- South Korean stocks hit another fresh record high Friday on recovery hopes despite soaring new coronavirus cases. The Korean won surged to an over 29-month high against the U.S. dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 7.54 points, or 0.29 percent, to close at 2,633.45.

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(LEAD) Stalking perpetrators to face up to 5 years in jail under new law

SEOUL -- The government will push for a new law to drastically raise punishments for stalking perpetrators, the Ministry of Justice said Friday.

The ministry made a prior announcement of the plan for the legislation via the government gazette, which calls for punishing convicted stalkers with up to five years in prison.
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