Yonhap News Summary

Yonhap News Summary

Yonhap News Summary

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

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(2nd LD) Ethics subcommittee rejects motion to expel lawmaker over cryptocurrency scandal

SEOUL -- A parliamentary ethics subcommittee on Wednesday voted down a motion to expel Rep. Kim Nam-kuk from the National Assembly over dubious cryptocurrency dealings.

The proposal was rejected in a 3-3 vote in the subcommittee divided evenly between the ruling People Power Party (PPP) and the main opposition Democratic Party (DP). A majority of support was needed for the motion's passage.

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Gov't to consider changing term 'contaminated water' for describing Fukushima water release: PM

By Kim Han-joo

SEOUL -- Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said Wednesday that the government would consider changing the term used to refer to the water being released from Japan's crippled Fukushima plant into the ocean.

The government has been using the term "contaminated water" in its daily briefings on the Fukushima water release, which began last Thursday. Meanwhile, Japan has referred to it as "treated water."

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PPP decides to refer to Fukushima water as 'treated contaminated water'

SEOUL -- The ruling People Power Party (PPP) decided Wednesday to refer to the radioactive water being released from Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean as "treated contaminated water."

The decision comes after the chief of the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives called for using the term "treated water" during a meeting of the PPP held to discuss ways to boost seafood consumption in the wake of the Fukushima release.

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(LEAD) FM, U.S. Strategic Command chief discuss extended deterrence against N. Korea's threats

SEOUL -- South Korea's top diplomat on Wednesday met with the head of a United States' military unit in charge of overseeing Washington's nuclear arsenal to discuss the U.S. extended deterrence against North Korean missile and nuclear threats, Seoul's foreign ministry said.

In the meeting held in Seoul, Foreign Minister Park Jin and Gen. Anthony J. Cotton, the visiting chief of the U.S. Strategic Command, shared concerns over the escalation and explicit display of North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, including the recent launch of a ballistic missile under the pretext of a space launch vehicle.

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S. Korea, China, Japan eye high-level talks to arrange trilateral summit within year: sources

SEOUL -- South Korea, China and Japan have been in discussions over holding a high-level meeting in the near future to arrange a trilateral summit within the year, according to sources Wednesday.

The three countries' diplomatic authorities have been discussing a plan to hold a senior officials' meeting next month in South Korea, the current chair country of a tripartite consultative body, in order to resume their regular three-way summits within the year.

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Population of kindergarten to high-school students declines for 18th year in row

SEOUL -- The population of kindergarten to high-school students shrank by nearly 100,000 this year from a year earlier, extending its falling streak to the 18th year, the education ministry said Wednesday.

The number of students at the country's kindergartens and elementary, middle and high schools nationwide amounted to slightly over 5.78 million as of April 1, the education ministry said in its annual student population statistics, released jointly with the Korean Educational Development Institute.

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Woman found dead with man after calling police hotline

SEOUL -- Police said Wednesday they are investigating the deaths of a man and a woman in their 40s whose bodies were found at an apartment in northern Seoul earlier this week.

The bodies were found by the woman's family at her apartment in the Mia-dong district at 8:55 p.m. Monday, police said.

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