Hard Currency Schemes

[Anchor Lead]

The U.S. Committee for Human Rights in North Korea says that the North, under sanctions by the UN, is evolving operations to earn hard currency: drug and weapons smuggling and sending laborers overseas.

[Pkg]

A new report by the U.S. Committee for Human Rights in North Korea says the North's involvement in illicit economic activities is undergoing change as the country is placed under UN sanctions. The report says that until the mid-2000s, the North Korean regime was out and front to earn dollar revenue through smuggling of foreign goods, narcotics and weapons, but this has changed now. The committee says that as sanctions have cut off banking transactions, criminal activity is now being privatized.

[Soundbite] Prof. SHEENA GREITENS (U.S. Harvard University) : "The report says the growth of such semi private enterprises can be likened to so-called criminal groups in the capitalist Western society. It says North Korean authorities often fail direct control of these groups. It also says that in addition to drug trafficking and arms sales, the North is diversifying sources of hard currency. This includes the inter-Korean Kaesong Industrial Complex, trade with China, exportation of labor and remittances sent to families in North by defectors in other countries."

[Soundbite] MARCUS NOLAND (Executive Vice President, Peterson Inst. for Int’l Economics) : "As its economic activities go underground, the report says additional financial sanctions on Pyongyang won't be as effective. But the report also notes a positive effect of the growth of semi-private enterprises: more opportunity for information about the outside world to enter the communist state."

2. Admission of Murder

[Anchor Lead]

Recent revelations in a case of negligence resulting in the death of a two year old boy reveal the sad truth. It was believed the father’s game addiction resulted in the child’s death, but the father has since admitted to murder.

[Pkg]

A two year old boy in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province is found to have been murdered by his game addicted father. There was a report that was issued earlier, saying that the boy was left neglected at home for over a month. This was found to be false. The Dongbu Police Station in Daegu City says the 22 year old father surnamed Jeong fessed up to the murder. On March 7th, Jeong fed the child miso soup before heading out to an Internet cafe. But the boy wouldn't sleep, which is why he choked him to death. Another confirmed finding shows that the father beat the child several times before killing him.

[Soundbite] Police Official (Voice Modified) : "He testified that the son wouldn't go to sleep when he had to leave the house, so he punched the boy's stomach three times and covered his nose and mouth to suffocate him."

He just left the corpse at home and then stayed at a motel. He returned home some 20 days later around March 31st. He wrapped the decomposed remains with a blanket, kept it in the veranda and then threw it away in a plastic bag last Friday. The autopsy results confirm this course of events. When the autopsy found 50 cubic centimeters of food left in the boy's stomach, the police grilled the father and he eventually confessed. Based on the autopsy results and Jeong's confession, the police have requested an arrest warrant on charges of homicide.

3. Vocational Schools

[Anchor Lead]

The government has pledged to create more than half a million jobs in the next three years. Toward that effort, it will help establish Swiss-style vocational schools to provide hands-on professional training and job placement at mid-sized firms.

[Pkg]

About 80 percent, or 6000 of the students at this vocational school in Switzerland succeed at landing jobs upon graduation. Their secret lies in their high-quality job skills, which they acquire in theory and practice before graduation.

[Soundbite] Student(Commercial-Industrial Vocational School Bern) : "I chose this subject in 8th grade. At the time I wanted to find out more about various professions such as electrician."

The government plans to introduce Swiss-style vocational schools in Korea. The government is poised to nurture talent in line with companies' needs by having students learn theory two days a week and practice at business sites three days a week. Next year such program will be operated on a pilot basis at seven special-purpose high schools. In addition to that, the government will expand the number of classes tailored to corporations' needs to more than a thousand. To help top graduates pursue higher education after finding jobs, the government will introduce college departments providing education in the graduates' areas of expertise.

[Soundbite] HYUN OH-SEOK (Deputy Prime Minister) : "By finding their first jobs earlier, young people can gain work experience and hone their skills as well as contribute to raising the country's employment rate."

The government also pledged to pay 960 U.S. dollars a year over three years to high school graduates who find employment at small or mid-sized companies to encourage them to work for the same company for a long time. Businesses that will hire people whose professional careers had been suspended due to the military service or child-rearing will receive government subsidies and tax benefits amounting to 10 percent of their labor costs.

4. Papal Visit

[Anchor Lead]

Pope Francis has announced that he will visit South Korea this summer to meet with young people in Asia. The pontiff is expected to arrive in August.

[Pkg]

Thousands of Catholics have gathered in front of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican ahead of Easter. Pope Francis gives an impromptu sermon to the crowd. For the first time, he mentions his plan to visit Korea.

[Soundbite] FRANCIS (Pope) : "I’m happy to announce that on August 15th, I’ll meet with young people from the Asia in the South Korean city of Daejeon."

After the service, the pope posed for cameras. He also sipped on some herbal tea that one of the visitors treated him to and spent time with the public. Pope Francis is to visit Korea on August 14. He'll stay in the country for five days. The pope will attend a Youth Day event, which brings together Catholics from all over Asia, and will conduct a service at the World Cup stadium in Daejeon. The Korean Catholic Church says the pope's visit will consist of simple, down-to-earth events reflecting his easygoing and frugal personality.

5. Fine Dust & Health

[Anchor Lead]

By now, just about everyone should know the health hazards of minute dust particles. On Tuesday, the government laid out a set of step-by-step countermeasures to reduce fine dust in the air.

[Pkg]

The sky in capital Seoul is blanketed with fine dust. People, wearing masks, quicken their steps.

[Soundbite] IM JONG-AE (Office Worker) : "I feel I have a dry throat. My eyes are also affected."

Dust particles have also entered people's home. And Indoor dust levels have passed the recommended limit.

[Soundbite] SIM SU-HO (Fine Dust Examiner) : "Measurement at school was 100. Here, it shows 105.6."

This year alone, advisories have already been issued on five days when average dust concentration per hour exceeded the limit. The government has reported measures to reduce dust pollution during a Cabinet meeting. When a first phase "advisory" is issued, dust removing vehicles will run more frequently. At public agencies, officials can bring their cars to work only every other day. Under a second phase "alert," schools will be closed and rotational operation of all private cars will be enforced. The Environment Ministry will discuss the measures with the Education Ministry and local governments before implementation next year.

[Soundbite] YOON SEONG-KYU (Environment Minister) : "In February, there were week-long high density dust concentrations. The public is worried. But the situation calls for concern for public health."

Officials will also introduce on a trial basis next month a super fine dust forecast system for the metropolitan region, and also distribute guidelines for the public to follow.

6. "Life Tag" Service

[Anchor Lead]

Emergency treatment can face delays because ER doctors aren’t up to speed on chronic diseases their patients might have. A new “life tag” service could be the answer: bracelets containing health information.

[Pkg]

A woman suddenly flops down to the ground because of pain. She has a severe cough and can barely talk. An emergency worker holds his smartphone to the woman's bracelet to learn what kind of problems she has. The so-called "life tag" service has been developed recently, enabling emergency rescue workers and doctors to find out about a patient's health condition so that first aid can be provided more efficiently. By using this service, medical workers will be able to minimize errors when treating patients with chronic and rare diseases.

[Soundbite] KIM TAE-HUN (Pulmonary hypertension patient) : "I have a rare disease that few people know about. So they think of it as anemia or some other malady."

The tags will also contain information on what kind of emergency help had been provided, patients' personal information and their emergency contacts. The government will first operate the service on a pilot basis on some Severance Hospital patients, and then will expand it later to the elderly who are living alone.

[Soundbite] KANG BYUNG-KYU (Security & Public Administration Minister) : "Health care service will be provided to low-income patients according to their needs with an understanding of their health condition in advance."

However, measures are needed to prevent privacy leaks that might occur in the event that the patients lose their life tags.

7. Summer Items

[Anchor Lead]

The unseasonably warm temperatures in Korea portend an early start to summer. Temperatures have soared to as high as 25 degrees Celsius already, which has retailers stocking shelves with summer items.

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This is a women's apparel corner at a shopping mall. All of their mannequins are dressed up in summer clothings. In previous year the summer outfits would have appeared in May.

[Soundbite] LEE MIN-SUK (Head, Shopping Mall Cheongju Branch) : "Last year summer items were delivered in late April or early May. But this year summer products account for up to 90% of all merchandises, and 100% for some brands."

It's all because of the unseasonably hot weather.

[Soundbite] GANG OK-JA (Customer) : "The weather used to be right for spring and fall outfits in the past, but now there seems to be no spring after winter."

In fact, sales of summer fashion items like sleeveless shirts and sandals during the last spring sale increased more than 20% from a year ago. Department stores and other large retailers have started promoting summer items last weekend.

[Soundbite] KIM HUN (Employee, Department Store) : "We planned a special sale to cater to customers looking for clothes for warmer weather."

Retailers are busy stocking up on summer items ahead of time with the sudden onset of summer season and the long holiday weekend coming up in early May.

8. Entertainment News

[Anchor Lead]

K-pop idol group EXO is making a comeback with a new mini-album. They’re as hugely popular in China as they are in Korea, and will be making the release in both countries at the same time.

[Pkg]

K-pop group EXO's mini album titled "Addiction" will be released on April 21. The album contains five songs, including the title track "Addiction," and will be released simultaneously in Korea and China. Fans trying to reserve their copies of the album have swarmed the album sales site, causing a server overload and service disruption. EXO plans to appear on this week's Music Bank on KBS and a music show on China's CCTV. Famed Korean rock band Sinawi's guitarist Shin Dae-chul will create a music distribution cooperative in order to counter the market dominance of large music companies. Shin plans to open a Website for the co-op, which will be comprised of fellow songwriters and musicians as well as his fans. He has been criticizing the payment structure of major music sites such as Melon. For a monthly fee, Koreans can listen to any song without any restrictions. However, songwriters are paid less than a cent for each time their song is played. Pop sensation Lady Gaga, Korean rapper PSY, and K-pop groups Big Bang and 2NE1 are to hold concerts at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul. PSY, Big Bang and other K-pop stars will perform on the first day of the NOW Festival 2014 and Lady Gaga will follow the next day. The pop music celebration is scheduled for August 15 and 16.

9. Unusual Pets

[Anchor Lead]

Dogs, cats and birds are the most popular pets, but for some people, they're just so ordinary. Here's a look at pet lovers who think a little outside of the box.

[Pkg]

This apartment in Incheon looks ordinary on the outside, but there's some quite unusual lurking inside. It is a large lizard. The reptile joined the family five years ago. However, it is crystal clear that the owner's mother and older brother are not overly fond of his pet.

[Soundbite] KIM YEON-HWA (Owner's Mother) : "It escapes from its cage. We sometimes find it behind the curtains while cleaning the house. We are startled."

It's not the most cute and cuddly pet, so how did the owner come to possess this lizard despite his family's opposition?

[Soundbite] KIM SEO-HYEON (Pet Owner) : "At first I caught a Korean lizard from the back hill and then I took care of it by giving it ants and spiders as food. It was really fun thing for me so I started adopting some reptiles and I’ve kept them. I knew their charms so I fell into them."

In his room, the wall is lined with cages of reptiles. He raises ten different kinds. And while he loves and cares for his pets he always has scratches on his hands. But he says that his wounds are no big deal.

[Soundbite] "The wounds won’t bleed if I cut their toenails. But I let them have long toenails and climb up trees. It is what I can do for them."

Here's another man with an affinity for reptile companions. He first began raising scaly pets in middle school, and now is a trader of rare animals. His office is full of rare species from the large veiled chameleon to the Argentine horned frog. They may look a little intimidating.

[Soundbite] SIN BEOM (CEO, Rare Animal Trading Firm) : "I import and sell rare animals. Pet lovers, stores, zoos and exhibition centers are my customers. I also export the animals to other nations."

He recently imported a very valuable animal.

[Soundbite] "It has no handles so four people are needed to bring it out. It weighs 200 kilograms."

It takes four men to bring it out of the water tank. It is enormous. It's the soft-shelled turtle. At one meter and four centimeters long it might be in the running for the world's largest.

[Soundbite] "A Vietnamese soft-shelled turtle is currently reported as the world's largest one. It is famous even in Korea. But this one is four centimeters taller than the well-known soft-shelled turtle."

There are about 50 different kinds of rare animals here and he's earned almost 2 million U.S. dollars in sales. He's a beneficiary of the increasing demand for unusual pets. In particular, the imports of snakes and soft-shelled turtles surged last year.

[Soundbite] "I began raising a reptile 15 years ago. At that time, there were only 30 people who had rare animals as pets. But the number has swollen to nearly 100-thousand. The number of shops dealing with rare pets has increased from four to 120. The market for rare pets is expanding, because raising those animals has some appeal to pet lovers."

The market for rare pets is booming, as pet lovers search for something special and uncommon to keep them company.