Yonhap News Summary

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

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(LEAD) N. Korea tests 'underwater nuclear attack drone,' cruise missiles for nuclear warhead: KCNA

SEOUL -- North Korea tested a new underwater nuclear weapon earlier this week capable of spawning a "radioactive tsunami" and stealthily attacking enemies, Pyongyang's state media said Friday.

Separately, the North also conducted a cruise missile drill using missiles "tipped with a test warhead simulating a nuclear warhead" as it slammed the combined military exercises between South Korea and the United States as an "actual drill" for "occupying" Pyongyang, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

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Yoon vows to make N. Korea pay for reckless provocations

SEOUL -- President Yoon Suk Yeol vowed Friday to make North Korea pay for its reckless provocations as the regime claimed to have carried out additional simulations of nuclear attacks on its enemies.

Yoon issued the warning hours after North Korea said it conducted the simulations this week involving cruise missile launches and an underwater nuclear attack drone, with leader Kim Jong-un threatening to make Seoul and Washington "plunge into despair."

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Seoul shares down late Fri. morning amid rate concerns

SEOUL -- South Korean stocks traded lower Friday as market sentiment was down on concerns about rate increases.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) had dropped 13.41 points, or 0.55 percent, to 2,411.07 as of 11:20 a.m., further extending its losses.

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(LEAD) S. Korea to seek extradition of crypto fugitive Kwon from Montenegro

SEOUL -- South Korean prosecutors said Friday they will seek the extradition of Do Kwon, the wanted co-founder of Terraform Labs, behind a multibillion-dollar crash of the firm's cryptocurrency last year, after he was arrested in Montenegro.

The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors Office will begin the process to request Montenegro to transfer Kwon, who was arrested at the airport in the capital Podgorica on Thursday. His identity was confirmed through fingerprint comparison earlier in the day.

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Improved ties with Japan to boost exports, consumption: finance minister

SEOUL -- South Korea and Japan's latest efforts to restore bilateral ties will give a "significant positive spillover" to Asia's No. 4 economy, the finance minister said Friday.

On Thursday, South Korea completed procedures to drop a complaint it filed with the World Trade Organization (WTO) against Japan over Tokyo's trade curbs as it began domestic procedures to put Japan back on its "white list" of trusted trade partners.

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Construction union raided over alleged illegal donation to progressive party

SEOUL -- Police raided offices of a major construction workers' union Friday over allegations that the union provided illegal political funds to a minor progressive party ahead of the 2020 parliamentary election.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency sent investigators to two branch offices of the Korean Construction Workers' Union (KCWU) and eight other locations to seize evidence, including account books and computer hard disks, according to officials.

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S. Korea's overseas investment hits fresh high in 2022

SEOUL-- South Korea's overseas direct investment slightly increased in 2022 on-year to a fresh high on the back of the chips and automobile industries, although the overall growth was limited in the face of economic uncertainties, data showed Friday.

The value of investments made overseas by South Korean companies reached US$77.17 billion, up 0.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
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