Yonhap News Summary

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

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(2nd LD) Group of N. Koreans crossed maritime border earlier this month: officials

SEOUL -- A group of North Koreans, including children, crossed the de facto inter-Korean sea border aboard a fishing boat earlier this month and are currently undergoing questioning by South Korean authorities, sources said Thursday.

The military authorities found the ship approaching the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the Yellow Sea at night on May 6 and sent troops to intercept it soon after it sailed across the maritime boundary, according to the sources.

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(LEAD) Yoon calls for fighting against threats to freedom, democracy by upholding Gwangju uprising spirit

SEOUL -- President Yoon Suk Yeol vowed Thursday to courageously stand against any challenges to freedom and democracy by upholding the spirit of a 1980 pro-democracy uprising in the southwestern city of Gwangju.

Yoon made the remark during a ceremony marking the 43rd anniversary of the Gwangju Democratization Movement, in Gwangju, some 267 kilometers southeast of Seoul, which was attended by a large number of lawmakers from the rival parties and families of the victims.

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(LEAD) Yoon, Japan PM to hold summit in Hiroshima

SEOUL -- President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will hold a bilateral summit on the sidelines of the Group of Seven (G-7) gathering in Hiroshima this weekend, the presidential office said Thursday.

Yoon and Kishida will meet Sunday on the last day of the president's three-day visit to Hiroshima, the office said. It will be the third Yoon-Kishida summit since March amid a thaw in the two countries' relations badly frayed over historical disputes.

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(LEAD) S. Korea seeks greater investment from Swiss bio firms

SEOUL -- South Korea's Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun on Thursday asked for the Swiss government's support for the European nation's bio companies to encourage them to expand investment in South Korea, Seoul's trade ministry said.

Ahn made the request during a meeting with Switzerland's economic minister, Guy Parmelin, in Seoul, as the two sides discussed ways to boost bilateral cooperation on trade, investment and the bioindustry, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

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(LEAD) S. Korean display firms to invest 65 tln won by 2027 to reclaim global top spot

SEOUL -- Samsung Display Co., LG Display Co and other South Korean display companies will make a combined investment of over 65 trillion won (US$48.77 billion) by 2027 to secure innovative technologies and reclaim the world's No. 1 position, the industry ministry said Thursday.

The planned investments aim to expand the country's global market share to over 50 percent by 2027 from last year's 37 percent by developing new technologies for next-generation display items and expanding organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display production lines.

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(LEAD) Seoul shares at over 2-week high on eased U.S. default woes

SEOUL -- South Korean stocks rose to an over two-week high Thursday as investor sentiment was buoyed by rising hopes that Washington would reach a deal on the debt ceiling. The Korean won gained ground against the greenback.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 20.74 points, or 0.83 percent, to finish at 2,515.4. It is the highest closing point since 2,524.39 on May 2.

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S. Korea warns of firm response to N. Korea's spy satellite provocation

SEOUL -- South Korea's foreign ministry vowed Thursday to respond firmly if North Korea goes ahead with a launch of a military spy satellite that could further raise tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

Lim Soo-suk, a spokesperson for the ministry, stressed that the launch of the satellite would violate multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions prohibiting any launches involving ballistic missile technology.

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Trudeau honors Canadian soldiers killed in Korean War

GAPYEONG, South Korea -- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday paid tribute to the hundreds of Canadian soldiers who were killed in the 1950-53 Korean War during his visit to a historic battlefield in Gapyeong, northeast of Seoul.

Trudeau arrived in South Korea on Tuesday for a three-day visit. On Wednesday, he held a summit with President Yoon Suk Yeol and delivered a speech at the National Assembly, marking the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

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(LEAD) U.S. Ambassador Goldberg renews commitment to deepening alliance with S. Korea

SEOUL -- U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Philip Goldberg reiterated his commitment Thursday to strengthening the alliance between Seoul and Washington, noting the two countries' efforts to broaden their partnership beyond a longtime focus on security.

Goldberg delivered a lecture on the United States' strategy and policy, and the strategic environment for the bilateral alliance at Air University in Daejeon, 139 kilometers south of Seoul.

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(Yonhap Feature) Navy stages anti-sub, missile defense drills with advanced warship against N. Korean threats

BUSAN/CHANGWON, South Korea -- A patrol aircraft emerged from heavy fog to drop sonar devices around a key guided-missile destroyer as part of South Korea's Navy drills to track and destroy a simulated North Korean submarine.

A maritime helicopter then flew in close to the 7,600-ton Aegis-equipped warship, ROKS Sejong the Great, and descended a cable-linked sonar system into the waters off the country's southeastern coast to pinpoint the enemy vessel.
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