Yonhap News Summary

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

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(LEAD) Yoon vows to seek accountability from those responsible for Itaewon tragedy
(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with more details; RECASTS lead; CHANGES headline)

SEOUL -- President Yoon Suk-yeol apologized Monday over the deadly Itaewon crowd crush, calling for a sweeping overhaul of police accused of bungling the response and promising to punish those responsible.

Yoon made the remark during a meeting held to review crowd control and other safety regulations in the wake of the tragedy that killed 156 people on Oct. 29.

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(LEAD) N. Korea threatens to take 'overwhelming' military steps against S. Korea, U.S.
(ATTN: UPDATES with more info throughout; ADDS photo, byline)

SEOUL -- North Korea's military said Monday it will take "sustained, resolute and overwhelming" practical military measures in response to joint military drills of South Korea and the United States amid speculation that Pyongyang may carry out another nuclear test just before or after the U.S. midterm elections this week.

In a "report" carried by the official Korean Central News Agency, the General Staff of the Korean People's Army (KPA) also said it conducted a four-day "military operations" last week against the allies' Vigilant Storm exercise, claiming to have fired two strategic missiles just 80 kilometers off the southeastern coast of Ulsan.

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PM apologizes for deadly crowd crush in Itaewon

SEOUL -- Prime Minister Han Duck-soo apologized Monday for a deadly crowd crush in Seoul's Itaewon district, vowing to reform crowd control measures to prevent similar tragedies from happening again.

"As the prime minister in charge of state affairs in connection with the disaster in Itaewon, I sincerely apologize to the people," Han told a parliamentary meeting.

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Seoul shares up late morning on tech, auto advances

SEOUL -- South Korean stocks traded higher late Monday morning on strong advances by tech and auto heavyweights.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) had increased 16.09 points, or 0.69 percent, to 2,364.52 points as of 11:20 a.m.

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(LEAD) Naver Q3 sales top 2 tln won in 2 yrs
(ATTN: RECASTS throughout with more details; CHANGES headline; ADDS photo)

SEOUL -- South Korean internet portal giant Naver Corp. said Monday its third quarter sales topped 2 trillion won (US$708.7 billion) for the first time in two years on robust growth in its content business.

The company said in a regulatory filing that its sales reached 2.05 trillion won for the July-September period, up 19.1 percent from 1.73 trillion won the previous year.

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