Yonhap News Summary

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

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(LEAD) Yoon's office considers suspending 2018 inter-Korean summit agreement
(ATTN: ADDS unification ministry official's comments in last 3 paras)

SEOUL -- The office of President Yoon Suk Yeol is considering suspending a 2018 inter-Korean summit agreement if North Korea violates the South's territory again, officials said Thursday.

The Pyongyang Joint Declaration was signed by then President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un after their September 2018 summit in Pyongyang.

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(2nd LD) N. Korean drone penetrated no-fly zone around S. Korea's presidential office: official
(ATTN: UPDATES with official's remarks, more details in paras 6-7, 10)

SEOUL -- A North Korean drone briefly entered a 3.7-kilometer-radius no-fly zone around the office of President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul last month, a military official belatedly confirmed Thursday, reversing the defense authorities' announcement that there was no such incident.

The drone was among the five unmanned aerial vehicles that the North sent across the Military Demarcation Line separating the two Koreas on Dec. 26. The South Korean military failed to shoot them down, raising questions over its air defense posture.

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Chinese escapee from quarantine facility nabbed in Seoul

SEOUL -- A Chinese man who escaped a government-designated quarantine facility for foreigners two days ago after testing positive for COVID-19 upon entering South Korea was apprehended in Seoul on Thursday, police said.

Police said they caught the 41-year-old man hiding in a Seoul hotel at 12:55 p.m.

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(LEAD) Main opposition slams military for belatedly confirming N.K. drone entering no-fly zone
(ATTN: ADDS main opposition party leader's comments)

SEOUL -- The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) denounced Thursday the military's belated confirmation of a North Korean drone's penetration of a no-fly zone around the presidential office in Seoul, calling for a parliamentary hearing on the incident.

Earlier in the day, military officials confirmed a North Korean drone briefly entered a 3.7-kilometer-radius no-fly zone around the office of President Yoon Suk Yeol in central Seoul last week, reversing their previous announcement that there was no such incident.

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S. Korea's Navy stages New Year's live-fire drills amid N.K. threats

SEOUL -- South Korea's Navy conducted its first live-fire drills of the year earlier this week, officials said Thursday, in a major display of naval might against evolving North Korean threats.

Designed to check the Navy's combat readiness, the annual drills took place in waters off the country's eastern, western and southern coasts on Wednesday, involving flagship warships and personnel from the Navy's 1st, 2nd and 3rd Fleets.

(END)