Yonhap News Summary

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

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(2nd LD) S. Korea urges N. Korea to accept dialogue offer

SEOUL -- South Korea's defense ministry on Friday pressed North Korea to hold bilateral military talks on easing border tension, as Pyongyang remained unresponsive to Seoul's latest dialogue offer.

The meeting was proposed for the day at the truce village of Panmunjom inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in what would be their first military dialogue in almost three years.

But the North has kept mum on it, since the South delivered the overture Monday through media, with all formal inter-Korean hotlines severed.

"The North Korean side has not issued a position so far. Accordingly, it has become virtually difficult to open the talks today," Moon Sang-gyun, the ministry's spokesman, said in a statement.

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(LEAD) S. Korea vows efforts to improve ties despite N.K. silence

SEOUL -- South Korea's unification ministry called on North Korea to accept its dialogue offer, vowing to make efforts to improve inter-Korean ties without being swayed by the North's silence.

The government also said that it has no plan to make another dialogue proposal as Pyongyang has remained mum toward Seoul's offer for military talks on easing border tensions on Friday and family reunions talks on Aug. 1.

"The government believes that there is the need to make step-by-step efforts (to improve inter-Korean relations) in a calm manner, rather than being swayed by North Korea's attitude," Lee Eugene, vice spokesperson at the ministry, told a regular press briefing. "We expect North Korea to respond to our dialogue offer as soon as possible."

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Top financial regulator calls for swift clearing of bad loans

SEOUL -- South Korea's top financial regulator on Friday called for the swift clearing out bad loans, saying that there is the need to achieve tangible results next month.

Choi Jong-ku, the new chairman of the Financial Services Commission, made the remarks earlier in the day as he held the first meeting with senior regulatory officials in Seoul.

The task is one of the five-year policy road maps outlined by President Moon Jae-in.

Next month, the government plans to draw up a package of fresh measures to tame the growth pace of household debt.

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(2nd LD) N. Korea's economy grew 3.9 pct in 2016: BOK

SEOUL -- North Korea's economy grew 3.9 percent last year, the fastest pace in more than a decade, South Korea's central bank said Friday, despite tough U.N. sanctions over Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs.

The estimated expansion of the gross domestic product (GDP) represents a sharp turnaround from 2015 when the economy of one of the world's most isolated countries shrank 1.1 percent due mainly to a drought.

Last year's growth is the highest since 1999 when North Korea's economy expanded 6.1 percent, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

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Welfare minister to spearhead welfare expansion: observers

SEOUL -- Health and Welfare Minister Park Neung-hoo is forecast to aggressively push forward welfare expansion that could entail tax hikes, local observers said Friday.

During a confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly earlier, Park vowed to pay keen attention to building an effective social security net, addressing the country's low birthrate, and enhancing medical and other services for people in the low-income brackets.

He further acknowledged the need for more robust investment and possible tax hikes in order to expand welfare benefits for more people.

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S. Korea's economy likely slowed to 0.6 pct on-quarter in Q2: Moody's Analytics

SEOUL -- South Korea's economy likely grew at a slower pace in the second quarter from three months earlier, a leading provider of economic analysis said Friday.

Growth of South Korean gross domestic product "likely cooled to 0.6 percent" in the June quarter, Moody's Analytics said, noting the country's exports didn't maintain their burly first quarter pace as a blip in tech demand and slower Chinese demand hurt shipments.

South Korea's GDP expanded 1.1 percent in the January-March period from the previous quarter.

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