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Yonhap News Summary

All News 13:35 July 20, 2018

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

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N. Korea's economy shrinks 3.5 pct in 2017: BOK

SEOUL -- North Korea's economy contracted 3.5 percent on-year in 2017 in the aftermath of tougher international sanctions and drought, logging the worst showing in two decades, South Korea's central bank said Friday.

In 2017, the communist country's estimated gross domestic product (GDP) marked a sharp decline from 3.9 percent growth in the previous year to report the worst performance since 1997 when its economy retreated 6.5 percent, according to the report by the Bank of Korea (BOK).

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(LEAD) N. Korea's media ramp up calls for repatriation of 12 restaurant workers

SEOUL -- North Korea's media on Friday ramped up their calls for South Korea to repatriate its restaurant workers who defected here years ago, saying that any delay in resolving the issue could negatively affect inter-Korean relations.

Twelve North Korean women had been working at a restaurant in the eastern Chinese city of Ningbo and came to the South in April 2016. The group defection has been causing controversy amid claims that some of them were duped into coming to the South.

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(LEAD) S. Korea voices opposition to U.S. auto tariff

WASHINGTON -- The South Korean government and auto industry on Thursday voiced opposition to the United States' proposed tariffs on imported cars, saying Korean cars do not pose a threat to U.S. security and such measures could undermine the benefits of the recently revised bilateral trade deal.

Four representatives from the Korean side presented their case against the 25 percent tariff being pushed under President Donald Trump on national security grounds during a public hearing at the U.S. Department of Commerce.

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(LEAD) Marine Corps vows to conduct 'neutral, objective' probe

SEOUL -- The Marine Corps vowed Friday to conduct a "neutral and objective" probe into this week's deadly chopper crash during its belated press briefing on the accident that killed five service members.

The armed service said that it is considering including civilian aviation experts, whom the victims' families recommend, in the probe team that currently consists of military and public officials.

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S. Korean figure skaters mourn death of Kazakh star Denis Ten

SEOUL -- South Korean figure skaters on Friday mourned the death of Denis Ten, a Kazakh star of Korean descent, taking to social media to express their condolences.

Ten, the 2014 Olympic men's singles bronze medalist and a great-great-grandson of a Korean-born independence fighter Min Keung-ho, was stabbed to death in Almaty on Thursday at age 25.

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Unified Korean men's doubles team reaches table tennis semifinals

SEOUL -- A unified Korean men's doubles team reached the semifinals of an international table tennis tournament in South Korea on Friday, securing at least a bronze medal.

The duo of Lee Sang-su (South Korea) and Pak Sin-hyok (North Korea) edged out Liang Jingkun and Yan An of China 3-2 (11-9, 13-11, 3-11, 4-11, 11-7) in the quarterfinals at the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Tour Platinum Korea Open in Daejeon, 160 kilometers south of Seoul.

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President's approval rating dips for fifth consecutive week

SEOUL -- President Moon Jae-in's approval rating dropped to the lowest level in five weeks this week, a poll showed Friday, amid growing concerns over a planned minimum wage hike that critics say may hurt the local economy.

In a poll conducted by Gallup Korea, Moon's approval rating came to 67 percent, down 2 percentage points from the week before.

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(Yonhap Feature) Housing prices in S. Korea at a crossroads

SEOUL -- Jo Bong-ok, a 40-something housewife with one child of elementary school age, sighs after receiving news that her efforts to buy a new apartment in western Seoul have failed. She has tried to buy a new apartment in Seoul five times so far, but the competition has been intense.

"I am increasingly worried that I can't own my own home in Seoul given rising prices," Jo says. "This time might be the last chance for me to buy a home, although the prices are still burdensome for me to cover, as there are no signs of a let-up in soaring property prices."
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