Yonhap News Summary

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

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Yoon arrives in Canada for summit with Trudeau on supply chains

TORONTO -- South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol arrived in Canada on Thursday for a summit with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on building stable supply chains in core minerals for EV batteries.

Yoon, who is on a three-nation trip to Britain, the United States and Canada, arrived in Toronto where he is scheduled to visit the University of Toronto for a meeting with AI experts.

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S. Korea to lift outdoor mask mandate starting next week

SEOUL -- The government has decided to lift all outdoor mask mandates starting next week as the country is "clearly overcoming" a resurgence in COVID-19 cases, the prime minister said Friday.

Under the decision set to go into effect Monday, those at outdoor gatherings of 50 or more people, and sporting events and concerts will not be required to wear masks.

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(LEAD) S. Korean gov't calls on activists to refrain from sending leaflets to N.K.

SEOUL -- South Korea's unification ministry urged local activist groups to refrain from sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border amid lingering concerns that such a campaign could lead to the escalation of tensions on the peninsula.

The ministry also made clear Seoul will take a "strong and stern" measure in case Pyongyang carries out its threat of retaliatory action against those who seek to spread those leaflets, usually using large-scale balloons.

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(LEAD) USS Ronald Reagan arrives in S. Korea in apparent warning to N. Korea

SEOUL -- An imposing U.S. aircraft carrier arrived in South Korea on Friday for its first combined drills with the South Korean Navy near the peninsula in five years, as the allies are striving to reinforce deterrence against evolving North Korean military threats.

The nuclear-powered USS Ronald Reagan docked at ROK Fleet Command in Busan, 390 kilometers south of Seoul, amid worries about the possibility of the North staging a nuclear test or other provocations. ROK stands for South Korea's official name, Republic of Korea.

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(LEAD) S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases fall to lowest Friday figure in 11 weeks

SEOUL -- South Korea's new COVID-19 cases fell to the lowest Friday tally in 11 weeks in the latest sign of a downward trend ahead of the planned lifting of all outdoor mask mandates next week.

The country reported 29,108 new COVID-19 infections, including 303 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 24,565,021, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.

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S. Korea's vice FM discusses IRA issue with White House official, Congress members

SEOUL -- A senior South Korean government official has reiterated Seoul's concerns over the negative impact of the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) on Korean automakers during a series of meetings with a White House official and members of Congress, his office said Friday

Second Vice Foreign Minister Lee Do-hoon met with White House Indo-Pacific Coordinator Kurt Campbell in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday and discussed the issue.

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(3rd LD) Blinken highlights importance of trilateral cooperation with S. Korea, Japan

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday stressed the importance of trilateral cooperation between South Korea, Japan and the U.S., urging the countries to work together on regional and global issues.

Blinken made the remarks at the top of a three-way meeting with South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin and Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa in New York.

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