Yonhap News Summary

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

-----------------
(LEAD) S. Korea considering additional unilateral N.K. sanctions over ICBM launch: ministry

SEOUL -- South Korea is considering imposing additional unilateral sanctions against North Korea in response to its evolving missile and nuclear threats highlighted by its latest intercontinental ballistic missile launch (ICBM), according to Seoul's foreign ministry Thursday.

North Korea test-fired an ICBM earlier in the day, marking its seventh ICBM launch this year and first since May. Pyongyang fired more than 20 short-range missiles the day before, one of which landed in waters south of the de facto maritime border with South Korea, known as the Northern Limit Line.

-----------------
U.S. condemns N. Korea's ICBM launch, urges int'l community to fully implement U.N. sanctions

WASHINGTON -- The United States condemned North Korea's firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on Thursday, calling it a threat to global peace and stability.

Department of State spokesperson Ned Price also called on all countries to fully implement U.N. Security Council sanctions on North Korea.

-----------------
(LEAD) Seoul shares end almost unchanged on battery sector gains

SEOUL -- Seoul stocks ended almost flat Thursday, buoyed by battery share gains after the Federal Reserve's rate-setting meeting. The local currency lost ground against the greenback.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) inched down 7.7 points, or 0.33 percent, to 2,329.17 at the closing bell.

-----------------
Yoon's office says talks on arranging S. Korea-Japan summit have not begun

SEOUL -- South Korea and Japan have not started talks on arranging a summit between President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, the presidential office said Thursday.

Japan's Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported earlier that Japan is looking into arranging a formal bilateral summit on the sidelines of an international gathering planned for mid-November.

-----------------
Ruling party chief says Seoul-Tokyo security cooperation more important than ever

SEOUL -- Ruling party leader Chung Jin-suk stressed the importance of security cooperation between South Korea and Japan on Thursday, saying it has become more important than ever in the face of Pyongyang's intensifying nuclear threats.

"Reflecting on the grave security circumstances, the importance of security cooperation between South Korean and Japan should be emphasized more than ever," Chung of the People Power Party told a news conference ahead of an annual general meeting of the parliamentary friendship union between the two countries.

-----------------
No. of multicultural marriages hits fresh low amid pandemic

SEOUL-- The number of marriages between South Korean nationals and foreign spouses set a new record low last year amid the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed Thursday.

A total of 13,926 transnational couples tied the knot here in 2021, down 13.9 percent, or 2,251, from a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea. They accounted for 7.2 percent of all marriages.
(END)