Yonhap News Summary

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

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

SEOUL -- North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) toward the East Sea on Tuesday, Seoul's military said, a day after South Korea and the United States kicked off a regular military exercise.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launch from the Jangyon area in South Hwanghae Province between 7:41 a.m. and 7:51 a.m., and they flew some 620 kilometers.

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(LEAD) U.S. forced to intensify joint military drills in response to N. Korean provocations: State Dept.

WASHINGTON -- The United States is left with no other choice but to enhance its joint defense capabilities with South Korea as North Korea continues to make provocations that threaten its ally, as well as U.S. troops stationed there, a state department spokesperson said Monday.

Ned Price made the remarks after North Korea fired what it called "strategic cruise missiles" from a submarine over the weekend.

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Yoon orders review of 52-hour workweek reform

SEOUL -- President Yoon Suk Yeol instructed the government on Tuesday to review its proposed reform of the 52-hour workweek system by paying particular close attention to the opinions of young generations, his office said.

Under the reform measures announced by the labor ministry last week, companies will be allowed to increase the maximum weekly work hours to 69 while keeping the average work hours within the 52-hour limit.

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S. Korea's financial market stable amid U.S. bank collapses: finance minister

SEOUL -- South Korea's financial market remains stable despite the failures of two U.S. banks, but the government will promptly come up with stabilization measures, if necessary, the finance minister said Tuesday.

On Friday, U.S. regulators shut down Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) in the largest failure of a U.S. bank since the 2008 financial crisis. It was followed by the collapse of the New York-based Signature Bank.

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PPP claims invalidity of DP-passed resolution on gov't forced labor victim compensation plan

SEOUL-- A parliamentary resolution adopted at the foreign affairs committee this week to urge the government to withdraw its compensation plan for forced labor victims is invalid because the meeting was convened in violation of due procedures, the ruling People Power Party claimed Tuesday.

On Monday, the Democratic Party (DP) passed the resolution through the committee in a meeting the party convened unilaterally without agreement with the PPP. The resolution urged the government to withdraw its plan to compensate wartime forced labor victims on its own without Japan's involvement.

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U.S. court grants bail to former Lone Star official

SEOUL -- The former Seoul branch chief of Lone Star, who led the U.S. equity fund's controversial acquisition of a South Korean bank nearly two decades ago, has been released on bail, the Ministry of Justice said Tuesday.

Steven Lee, a Korean American who headed the branch office from 1998 to 2005, was arrested in New Jersey on March 2, 17 years after the Seoul government had asked the U.S. authorities to extradite him.

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S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases continue on-week decline

SEOUL -- South Korea's new COVID-19 cases rose to over 11,000 on Tuesday but continued their on-week decline amid an overall downtrend, health authorities said.

The country reported 11,401 new coronavirus cases, including 11 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 30,650,330, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.
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