Yonhap News Summary

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

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Arrest warrant sought for mastermind behind abduction, murder of woman

SEOUL -- Police sought an arrest warrant Friday for the suspected mastermind behind last week's kidnapping and murder of a woman in downtown Seoul.

The man, only identified by his surname Yoo, is under suspicion of hiring three individuals to kidnap and kill the 48-year-old woman, according to the Suseo Police Station.

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(LEAD) S. Korea, U.S., Japan urge international community to repatriate N. Korean workers

SEOUL -- The top nuclear envoys of South Korea, the United States and Japan held trilateral talks here on Friday during which they called for the international community to repatriate all North Koreans working overseas in line with U.N. sanctions over the North's provocations.

Seoul's chief nuclear negotiator, Kim Gunn, met with his U.S. and Japanese counterparts, Sung Kim and Takehiro Funakoshi, respectively, at the foreign ministry building and discussed joint efforts to counter growing nuclear and missile threats from Pyongyang. They last held such a trilateral session in December in Jakarta.

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Last suspect of scam ring targeting students with drug-spiked drinks nabbed

SEOUL -- The last suspect of a scam ring has been arrested for allegedly handing over beverages laced with drugs to random high school students in Seoul with the purpose of extortion, police said Friday.

The female suspect, whose identity has been withheld, is one of the four individuals accused of giving out such drinks to students in Gangnam Ward, southern Seoul, on Monday night after tricking them into believing they were helpful for concentration.

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VP Harris visits Hanwha's solar panel factory in Georgia

SEOUL -- U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris has visited a solar panel factory in Georgia run by South Korea's Hanwha Solutions Corp., announcing what the Joe Biden administration says will be the largest community solar energy project in the history of the United States.

Harris toured the operating solar panel module factory in Dalton, and a nearby site where Hanwha has been expanding its production line, in the southeastern U.S. state, Thursday (U.S. time), Hanwha Solutions said in a release.

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(LEAD) LG Energy Solution's profit grew more than twofold in Q1 on IRA effects

SEOUL -- LG Energy Solution Ltd. (LGES) said Friday it estimated its operating profit to have grown more than twofold in the first quarter from a year earlier, boosted by the effects of U.S. government subsidies under a new law that promotes electric vehicle (EV) purchases.

Operating income reached 633.2 billion won (US$480.1 million) in the January-March period, compared with 258.9 billion won the previous year, South Korea's top battery maker said in a regulatory filing.

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(2nd LD) Samsung Electronics cuts memory output as Q1 profit likely drops 96 pct on weak demand

SEOUL -- Samsung Electronics Co. on Friday said it cut memory production in the short term, as its quarterly profit plunged significantly amid the chip downturn, in a sharp departure from its previous position that it would not artificially reduce output.

The world's largest memory chip and smartphone maker earlier in the day estimated its January-March operating profit at 600 billion won (US$454.9 million), sharply down from 14.12 trillion won a year ago.

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U.S. congressional leaders say Yoon's address will provide vision for future of alliance

WASHINGTON -- U.S. congressional leaders have invited South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to address a joint session of Congress, noting it will provide an opportunity to share his vision for the future of U.S.-South Korea alliance, an invitation letter to Yoon released Thursday showed.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer also said the historic event will highlight the progress made by the allied countries over the years.

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(LEAD) China, others have obligation under U.N. resolutions to engage N. Korea: State Dept.

WASHINGTON -- China and any other countries that have a relationship with North Korea have an obligation to encourage Pyongyang to halt its provocative actions, a state department spokesperson said Thursday, amid reports that the North is prepared to conduct a nuclear test at anytime.

Vedant Patel, deputy spokesperson for the state department, added the U.S. will continue to implement United Nations Security Council sanctions on North Korea to prevent further escalation.
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