Yonhap News Summary

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

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Korean Air, Airbus Helicopters signs MOA for unmanned helicopter development

SEOUL -- Korean Air Lines Co. said Thursday it has signed a memorandum of agreement with Airbus Helicopters to develop unmanned reconnaissance helicopters for the South Korean military.

Under the technology partnership, Korean Air will develop an unmanned carrier-based helicopter and an unmanned helicopter for surveillance and reconnaissance purposes over South Korean islands near the western sea border with North Korea, the company said in a statement.

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(LEAD) FSC chief vows 'preemptive' action against financial market volatility

SEOUL -- South Korea's financial regulator will keep a close eye on financial market situations and respond in a "preemptive" manner as volatility is rising amid global monetary tightening and worries over an economic slowdown, its chief said Thursday.

Kim Joo-hyeon, chairman of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), also vowed continued efforts to engineer a "soft landing" in the country's ballooning household debt in a way that it would not cause strain to the overall economy.

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No plan to cut chip production despite slowing demand: Samsung executive

SEOUL -- Samsung Electronics Co. is not considering a cut in production of its memory chips despite slowing demand amid concerns over a global economic recession, a senior executive has said.

"There is no internal discussion (about a cut in memory chip production)," Han Jin-man, executive vice president and head of the memory global sales and marketing at Samsung Electronics, said at the annual Samsung Tech Day on Wednesday (U.S. time), currently taking place in San Jose, California.

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(LEAD) Yoon set to speak with Japan's Kishida amid N. Korea missile launches

SEOUL -- President Yoon Suk-yeol is set to speak by phone with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Thursday following a series of North Korean missile launches, including one that flew over Japan.

The daring launch of an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) Tuesday was the biggest provocation by North Korea in years and sent the Japanese people scrambling to evacuate while suspending train operations in some areas.

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(2nd LD) N. Korea fires 2 short-range ballistic missiles into East Sea: S. Korean military

SEOUL -- North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) toward the East Sea on Thursday, South Korea's military said, after a U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier was redeployed to the waters the previous day.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launches from the Samsok area in Pyongyang between 6:01 a.m. and 6:23 a.m.

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S. Korea, U.S. condemn N.K. missile launch in joint statement with several UNSC members

NEW YORK -- South Korea, Japan and some Western member countries of the United Nations issued a joint statement Wednesday condemning North Korea for its ballistic missile provocation.

The move came after the council failed to reach an agreement on additional sanctions or adopt an official statement against the North in a meeting over the North's intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) launch earlier this week.

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(LEAD) Foreign reserves shrink at fastest pace in 14 yrs in September amid strong dollar

SEOUL -- South Korea's foreign reserves shrank at the fastest pace in about 14 years last month as authorities unloaded dollars to stall the local currency's excessive slide against the greenback, central bank data showed Thursday.

The Bank of Korea (BOK), however, dismissed worries that the country's foreign reserves might not be sufficient enough to defend the won down the road and brace for a financial crisis.
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