Russia Relations

[Anchor Lead]

North Korea's nuclear point man Kim Kye-gwan has made an official visit to Russia. During his trip the first vice minister of Pyongyang’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs will discuss the regime's return to the six-party nuclear talks and try to strengthen relations.

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North Korea's First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Kim Kye-gwan arrived in Russia on Wednesday afternoon. When questioned about the nature of his visit to Russia, Kim implied that North Korea's return to the six-party nuclear talks would be the key agenda.

[Soundbite] Kim Kye-gwan (NK First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs) : "(What brings you here?) I’m here on business. It’s for business."

Kim will reportedly focus on the issues related to North Korea’s nuclear program. Russia has been maintaining that the multilateral talks were the only way to resolve the regime’s nuclear issue. It appears that Kim will work to obtain Russia's support during this visit to counter the United States and South Korea's demands. The two countries have been urging the regime to show its sincere commitment to denuclearize before resuming the nuclear negotiations. He plans to stay at the North Korean Embassy in Moscow and begin meeting high-ranking Russian officials on Thursday. The regime demonstrated during Kim's visit to China last month that it is willing to engage in various forms of dialogue, including the six-party talks.

2. Hotline Restored

[Anchor Lead]

North Korea has restored the inter-Korean hotline at the border village of Panmunjom and promised to let South Korean business owners visit the closed Kaesong Industrial Complex. The North's statement came shortly after South Korean firms based they’re announced that they want to withdraw their equipment.

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The Unification Ministry says that North Korea contacted the South yesterday via the inter-Korean communication channel in the truce village of Panmunjom and promised to let South Korean entrepreneurs visit their facilities at the joint Kaesong Industrial Complex. The North promised to discuss the details of their visit and resume communication after they notify Pyongyang of the time of their visit. North Korea says it could let the officials of the Kaesong Industrial District Management Committee visit the industrial park as well and even discuss all the necessary aspects during their period of visit. The North also hinted at the possibility of resuming official talks with the South over the Kaesong meltdown. North Korea announced its decision to let South Korean businessmen visit the Kaesong Industrial Complex after the representatives of 43 electronics and mechanical companies with plants there threatened yesterday they would withdraw their facilities from the industrial park. Pyongyang is now apparently willing to resolve the Kaesong crisis. The government has delivered the North's notification to the Kaesong Industrial District Management Committee and said it would give its answer after contemplating the matter. With the resumption of communication between the two Koreas in Panmunjom, talks over the normalization of the Kaesong Industrial Complex could see some progress soon.

3. Battle Continues

[Anchor Lead]

The ruling and opposition camps continue to butt heads over the minutes of the 2007 inter-Korean summit and controversial remarks from former President Roh Moo-hyun said to be contained within them. Even though the parties have begun steps to disclose the minutes from the meeting, they each have their own, conflicting intentions in doing so.

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A document demanding the transcripts on the 2007 inter-Korean summit has been officially sent to the government. The ruling and opposition parties are soon to discuss when and how to check them. But they both have different things in mind. The ruling Saenuri Party hopes that by revealing the audio recordings containing former President Roh Moo-hyun's voice it will be easier to find out if he indeed had intentions of abandoning the maritime demarcation line between North and South Korea.

[Soundbite] Rep. Choi Kyoung-hwan (Saenuri Party) : "We want this to put an end to this controversy and not to aggravate it more."

The main opposition Democratic Party, for its part, believes that revealing the minutes will serve as further proof that the late president did not have in mind giving up the Northern Limit Line.

[Soundbite] Rep. Jun Byung-hun (Democratic Party) : "We think that this extreme measure will benefit the country's interests and end the controversy."

Even though both parties wish for the minutes to be disclosed after checking them to put an end to the controversy, this would run counter to the nation's law. The parties are considering the disclosure at a National Assembly Standing Committee meeting using their privilege of immunity, or revealing audio files which are now kept at the National Intelligence Service. It will be the second revealing of presidential archives since the scandal over the illegal rice income preservation direct payments in 2008. At the time, representatives of both parties viewed the archives to find out whether former President Roh Moo-hyun meddled in the Board of Audit and Inspection's investigation, but the details of the archives were never unveiled.

4. Ancient Discovery

[Anchor Lead]

The inscription “King Isaji” has been found on a sword that was unearthed from a Silla Dynasty tomb in Gyeongju. It’s the first time the word "king" has found on a relic from the era, and the discovery is expected to offer a clue as experts try to identify the owner of the tomb.

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A gold crown was found in a tomb in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province. National Treasure No. 87 highlights the sophisticated and refined metalcraft techniques during the Silla Kingdom. However, the identity of the crown's owner remains as a mystery. Amid the approximately 40-thousand items unearthed from the tomb, a clue has finally been found to help identify who the owner of the tomb is. The words "King Isaji" is clearly inscribed on the metal part of a sheath. Historians believe that the owner of the tomb was a high-level aristocrat during the ancient kingdom. Academics note that none of the Silla kings had the name "Isaji" and that the man with the most power used to be called "maripgan" during the ancient kingdom.

[Soundbite] Kim Yeong-na (Director-General, National Museum of Korea) : "With the inscription, scholars need to completely review their studies and presumptions about the Silla royal tomb where the gold crown was found."

Currently, it is difficult to conclude that King Isaji is the owner of the gold crown and the tomb, because the buried person was not wearing the sword upon excavation. Scholars also speculate that the owner of the tomb may be a woman. The owner of the tomb will likely be determined after the identity of King Isaji is revealed after a closer look at more historical records and documents.

5. Verdict Reversed

[Anchor Lead]

Fifteen former pro-democracy activists, including the late former President Kim Dae-jung, have been found innocent in a retrial 37 years after they were jailed for dissent against former President Park Chung-hee's authoritarian regime. The court apologized for the past ruling, calling the decree that caused it shameful.

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During Mass at Myeongdong Cathedral in Seoul on March first, 1976, pro-democracy activists announced an anti-government statement. They strongly criticized then President Park Jung-hee for his authoritarian rule. The government immediately defined this as a violation of Decree No. 9. Prosecutors indicted the 15 activists and three other people on charges of the violation in ten days after the announcement.

[Soundbite] Seo Jeong-gak (Fmr. Director, Seoul District Prosecutors’ Office) : "Kim Dae-jung, Moon Ik-hwan and Ham Se-ung were the masterminds."

It became a large-scale political incident involving many pro-democracy activists. The trial did not go smoothly, as judges placed a restriction on people's attendance to the trials and many of the defendants' lawyers resigned in protest. The Supreme Court sentenced all the defendants to prison after only a year. But, in a re-trial, the judges found the 15 activists innocent saying that the past verdict was not justified.

[Soundbite] Lee Hee-ho (Fmr. First Lady) : "I hope that the court will not put innocent people behind bar."

Decree No. 9 was said to be among the worst under the former president's rule. Some 800 were arrested on charges of violating it. In March of this year, the Constitutional Court found the decree to be unconstitutional, while the Supreme Court followed suit in April.

6. Smartphone Addiction

[Anchor Lead]

A survey shows that one in seven Korean adolescents are addicted to smartphones. Among young people, the number of smartphone addicts is double that of Internet addicts.

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As soon as class is over and the teacher leaves, these fourth graders pull out their smartphones. Students who don't have smartphones try to steal glimpses at the ones their classmates own. A government survey on one-point-seven million fourth, seventh and tenth graders shows that 14 percent, or 240-thousand respondents, were addicted to their smartphones. The figure is around two-point-three times more than the number of students who are addicted to the Internet, which comes in at 105-thousand. About 39-thousand respondents showed withdrawal symptoms when they were without their smartphones. High school students account for more than half of those addicted to their smartphones and the Internet.

[Soundbite] Prof. Kim Mi-gyeong (Korea Guro Hospital) : "I think contacting with other people, reading books and keep in touch with such papers will be very helpful."

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family plans to help adolescent smartphone and Internet addicts receive counseling and medical treatment. It will also give students financial assistance of up to 438 U.S. dollars when they receive medical help for their addiction.

7. Seal Migration

[Anchor Lead]

A spotted seal that was recently released into the sea at Ulsan has been found to be staying in waters off North Korea's Hamgyong Province. It's the first time that the migration route of a spotted seal from the Russian Far East has been tracked.

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A spotted seal measuring 1.4 meters and weighing 70 kilograms is released into the sea off the city of Ulsan. Spotted seals are Korea's Natural Monument number 331. The animal was rescued from a reservoir near Wolseong Nuclear Plant in Gyeongju in May this year and underwent medical treatment. It was able to return to the wild a month later with a GPS device attached to its body. Six days after the creature was released, its location was identified in the sea off Musudan in North Korea's Hamgyong Province.

[Soundbite] An Yong-rak (National Fisheries Research & Development Inst.) : "In the summer, seals swim southward to find food, get plenty of rest and shed their fur. They then swim back north to give birth to their young on the ice."

The first satellite signal from the seal was received on June 27 in the city of Donghae in Gangwon Province. The seal later crossed the Haegum River in North Korea and on Tuesday reached Hamgyong Province after swimming along the coastline. The animal traveled around 80 kilometers a day. It's the first time that a spotted seal's whereabouts were traced using a satellite. By tracking spotted seals ecologists will be able to spur their research into the species' eco-system in the waters off the Korean Peninsula.

8. Entertainment News

[Anchor Lead]

A member of the group Wonder Girls is set to star in a KBS drama. And the boy band TVXQ's new album is ranked fourth on the Japanese chart.

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The management agency for singer Sohee from the girl group "Wonder Girls" says that the entertainer will play the female lead in the KBS drama "Happy! Rose Day," which will air early next month. Sohee debuted as an actress in the movie "Hellcats" in 2008. However, this is the first time she is starring in a drama. The Korean movie "Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time" will open in Japan on August 31. Starring actors "Choi Min-sik" and "Ha Jeong-woo," the film is about Korea in the mid- and late 1980s. The movie drew some four million people in Korea. Korean boy band "TVXQ" ranked fourth on Japan's Oricon chart for the first half of this year with its latest album "Time." Released on March sixth, it is the group's sixth album, selling more than 290-thousand copies in Japan alone. The album came in at the top spot on Oricon's daily and weekly charts with 160-thousand copies sold on the first day. TVXQ will wrap up its tour in Japan after holding concerts in Yokohama on August 17th and the 18th.

9. Weather Management

[Anchor Lead]

Efforts to more accurately predict the weather are increasing these days for economic applications. Today we’re taking a look at businesses that are using “weather management,” which has become a critical strategy for companies in fields from fashion to electronics.

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Unusual weather conditions are becoming the norm these days due to climate change caused by global warming. This is a gimbap rice roll restaurant in Daejeon that uses something called weather management. You may wonder why a gimbap place has to worry about the weather. Inside, there’s a sign saying "Weather is money." It’s because the weather determines the kind of gimbab made that day.

[Soundbite] Kim Bong-ja (Owner, Gimbap Restaurant) : "It was clear this morning but it's gotten cloudy so we have to make Ddaengcho gimbap. Cloudy weather makes people irritated and this spicy roll will revitalize them and cheer them up."

We left a camera in the restaurant to see if what she says is true, if the weather really affects what kind of gimbap people order. And in fact, many customers did ask for the ddaeng-cho gimbap, which has lots of hot peppers in it.

[Soundbite] Song Gil-ja (Customer) : "I think that the Humidity is a bit high today. I'm having this for a change of mood."

They went through trial and error to figure out their weather management system. Sometimes, group orders would be cancelled due to a sudden change in the weather. But now that they’ve got it figured out, their monthly sales have spiked.

[Soundbite] "I've been in business a long and realize weather is important. I began to reflect on the weather factor based on records of which gimbap sell well on sunny or cloudy days. Sales have gone up."

The fashion industry is very sensitive to fads and needs to be ahead of the season. This store has hired a weather consulting firm for help.

[Soundbite] Kim Hui-seong (Weather Consultant) : "I'm here to address our client's questions about weather and to provide information about weather-related sales and marketing strategies such as product display."

The heat wave and monsoons have arrived earlier this year. The consultants suggest that displaying raincoats at the storefront will most likely boost sales.

[Soundbite] Park Jeong-hun (Outdoor Clothing Company) : "The display order reflects real time weather conditions. Consumer response has been great and sales are rising."

And no surprise, customers stepping into the store are first drawn to the raincoat section.

[Soundbite] Im Han-na (Customer) : "I'm here to buy a raincoat and seeing one right there on display made me want to buy one even more."

As more and more firms incorporate weather data into how they do business, companies offering weather consulting have also grown busier. They collect and analyze weather information and use it to devise marketing plans.

[Soundbite] Kim Dong-sik (CEO, Weather Consulting Firm) : "How to overcome the weather and use it as an opportunity has now become a determining factor in individual and corporate competitiveness."

The weather not only affects your mood, but can also change how much money goes into your wallet, making weather management a key strategy for business success.