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Yonhap News Summary

All News 17:48 August 28, 2014

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

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S. Korean vice FM urges Japan's sincerity on sex slave issue

SEOUL -- South Korea's vice foreign minister called on Japan Thursday to show sincerity in resolving the issue of Tokyo's sexual enslavement of Korean and other Asian women during World War II.

Cho Tae-yul, Seoul's second vice minister of foreign affairs, said that the government of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe should carefully read the message that South Korean President Park Geun-hye delivered in a recent speech marking the 50th anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japanese colonial rule.

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S. Korean studio, DreamWorks to co-produce TV animation series

SEOUL -- A South Korean animation studio said Thursday it will co-produce multiple television animation series with DreamWorks Studios, a leading motion picture company in Hollywood.

Studio Mir Co. has recently signed a contract with the American studio to collaborate on a number of animation projects, including a 78-episode TV animation series by 2018, Mir said.

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Over 2,000 Chinese firms to attend annual trade fair with N. Korea

BEIJING -- More than 2,000 Chinese companies have registered for an annual trade exhibition with North Korea, which will be held in October in the Chinese border city of Dandong, state media reported Thursday.

North Korea and China have held the joint trade fair since 2012, underscoring the hopes of Beijing as it seeks to help develop business ties with the isolated neighbor despite the North's defiant pursuit of nuclear weapons.

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New Renault Samsung SM7 uses magnesium in mass market's first

SEOUL -- Renault Samsung Motors Co. said Thursday that its new SM7 near-luxury sedan will become the first mass market car in the world to use a magnesium plate in its construction.

The carmaker, the local unit of French automaker Renault S.A., said it teamed up with South Korean steelmaking giant POSCO to jointly develop the plates that are strong yet very light weight, making them ideal for use in vehicles.

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CJ Foodville bolsters overseas push with 200th store

SEOUL -- CJ Foodville, the restaurant arm of conglomerate CJ, said Thursday it has opened its 200th overseas store in mainland China as part of an ongoing global expansion plan.

The CJ affiliate's latest store is a Tous Les Jours bakery located in Dawanglu, a business district in Beijing, the company said in a press release.

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Number of students drops 2.8 pct on-year

SEJONG -- The number of elementary and secondary school students in South Korea declined 2.8 percent this year from a year ago, government data showed Thursday, amid the country's low birth rate.

According to the annual data from the education ministry, the number of students attending kindergartens, elementary, middle and high schools totaled 6.98 million as of April 1 this year, some 201,000 fewer than a year ago. The drop was similar to 2.7 percent for the previous year.

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Opposition party demands resolution of ferry bill issue this week

SEOUL -- The main opposition party demanded Thursday that the ruling party cooperate to resolve a political impasse this week over a bill aimed at uncovering the truth behind April's deadly ferry sinking.

The demand by the No. 1 opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) comes as the National Assembly is scheduled to begin its regular parliamentary session Monday.

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(2nd LD) Father of ferry victim ends hunger strike

SEOUL -- The father of one of the high school students killed in April's ferry disaster ended a nearly 50-day hunger strike on Thursday, due to worsening health and in response to a plea from his family, his spokesman said.

Kim Young-oh, whose 16-year-old daughter was killed in the sunken ferry Sewol, began fasting on July 14, demanding an independent probe into one of the country's deadliest maritime accidents that left nearly 300 people dead or missing.

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Kia to send popemobile Soul to Vatican

SEOUL -- Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's No. 2 automaker, said Thursday that it has decided to donate its Soul boxy compact car to the Vatican in appreciation of Pope Francis choosing it as his popemobile.

The Soul was used by Pope Francis during his five-day visit to South Korea that began on Aug. 14.

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Park to mull declaring S. Korea's southeast special disaster area

SEOUL -- President Park Geun-hye said Thursday that she would consider declaring South Korea's southeastern areas hit hard by recent torrential rains a special disaster zone.

The designation, if made, would make the affected areas eligible for additional government support, including up to 80 percent of the costs associated with the disaster.

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(LEAD) U.S. court denies Apple's injunction to stop sales of Samsung smart devices

SAN FRANCISCO -- Samsung Electronics Co. won a small but meaningful battle Wednesday after a U.S. court dismissed Apple Inc.'s bid to ban sales of its nine older models in the United States.

Judge Lucy H. Koh, a U.S. district judge in San Jose, California, rejected an injunction filed by the iPhone maker to block sales of nine Samsung smartphone lines, including the Galaxy S3, for infringing its patented technologies.

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S. Korea summons 3 soldiers in Philippines for unauthorized drinking

SEOUL -- Three South Korean soldiers stationed in the Philippines have been summoned to face disciplinary actions for drinking outside their local base without permission, military officials in Seoul here said Thursday.

The soldiers -- two privates first class and one corporal -- left the compound in Tacloban without a proper report and drank for about three hours on the night of Aug. 10, according to an official at the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

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Five middle powers hope to serve as 'bridge-builder' on int'l stage

SEOUL -- Envoys from South Korea and four other middle powers met in Seoul on Thursday to discuss how their cooperative body should move forward, adding that they are well positioned to play the role of a "bridge-builder" in the international community.

The so-called MIKTA is an informal cooperative channel created by Mexico, Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, Turkey and Australia last September in a bid to enhance coordination on global issues of common interest.

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(LEAD) Opposition lawmaker ends hunger strike after 9 days

SEOUL -- A prominent opposition lawmaker who lost to President Park Geun-hye in the 2012 presidential election ended a hunger strike Thursday after fasting for nine days in support of the father of a victim of April's deadly ferry sinking.

On Aug. 19, Rep. Moon Jae-in of the No. 1 opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) joined Kim Young-oh, a father who lost his high school daughter in the ferry disaster, in a hunger strike aimed at pushing legislation for an independent investigation into the truth behind the tragedy.
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