Yonhap News Summary

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

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(4th LD) N. Korea's Kim arrives in Russia for rare summit with Putin

SEOUL -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un arrived in Russia early Tuesday, an official at South Korea's defense ministry said, as Kim is set to hold a rare summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, with concerns growing over a possible arms deal between Pyongyang and Moscow.

North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) confirmed early Tuesday that Kim had left Pyongyang for Russia aboard his train Sunday afternoon, accompanied by leading officials of the North's ruling party and the armed forces.

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Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup appears to have expressed willingness to resign: source

SEOUL -- South Korea's Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup appears to have expressed his willingness to resign, a government source said Tuesday.

The source said Lee apparently made the decision to prevent a possible security vacuum amid calls for his impeachment by the main opposition party.

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Gov't, PPP to seek legal revisions to protect teachers in child abuse cases

SEOUL -- The government and the ruling People Power Party (PPP) decided Tuesday to push for a set of legal revisions aimed at safeguarding teachers' rights during child abuse investigations.

The move comes after a series of suicide deaths of teachers sparked massive demands for the protection of teacher rights. Some argue the current child abuse crimes act could hold teachers accountable for child abuse allegations stemming from what they consider necessary disciplinary actions.

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Yoon vows to actively seek trilateral summit with Japan, China

SEOUL -- President Yoon Suk Yeol vowed Tuesday to actively seek a trilateral summit with Japan and China, a gathering not held since 2019 due to historical disputes between Seoul and Tokyo, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Yoon expressed his commitment during a Cabinet meeting held a day after he returned from a six-day trip to Indonesia and India, where he attended multilateral summits involving the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Group of 20, and also met on the sidelines with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese Premier Li Qiang.

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Opposition leader set to appear for questioning over suspected illegal remittance to N. Korea

SEOUL -- Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung was set to appear before prosecutors Tuesday for his second questioning over allegations of his involvement in a company's illegal remittance to North Korea in 2019.

Lee, chair of the main opposition Democratic Party, was set to show up at the Suwon District Prosecutors Office at 1:30 p.m. to face questioning on charges of third-party bribery, three days after he underwent the first round of questioning on Saturday.

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Prosecutors question actor Yoo Ah-in over alleged drug abuse

SEOUL -- Prosecutors on Tuesday questioned actor Yoo Ah-in on charges of using illegal drugs, in the first questioning since his referral to the prosecution in June.

Yoo is charged with habitually taking more than eight types of drugs in violation of the Narcotics Control Act.

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Anti-corruption agency to launch 90-day special probe into lawmakers' virtual assets

SEOUL -- The state anti-corruption agency said Tuesday it will look into virtual asset holdings of all lawmakers to see if any irregularities are involved, after suspicions arose earlier this year over a lawmaker's once-massive cryptocurrency assets.

The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission said it will conduct a 90-day inspection starting next Monday at the request of the National Assembly and a special team of 30 investigators will be mobilized for the inspection.
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