North Korea Policy

[Anchor Lead]

The presidential office’s national security adviser, Kim Kwan-jin, will visit the U.S. in mid-Septemberto meet with his U.S. counterpart. Attention is being paid to how South Korea and the U.S. will coordinate their policies in the planned meeting, as Pyongyang and Washington have recently made contact.

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The presidential office national cecurity adviser Kim Kwan-jin will visit the U.S. for the first time, since taking office in June. He is expected to pay a three-day visit to the U.S. from September 15th, after the Chuseok holiday. Kim will discuss pending bilateral security issues with his U.S. counterpart, Susan Rice. A South Korean government official says that the key agenda for the meeting will be discussion on the delay of the transfer of wartime operational control from Washington to Seoul. However, Kim's visit comes at a critical time. On August 16th, U.S. and North Korea made secret contact. North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Su-yong will also visit the U.S. this month. He is the first North Korean foreign minister to do so in 15 years. Analysts say that with these changes in North Korean-American ties, South Korea will check if the U.S. has changed its policy towards Pyongyang. Kim and Rice will likely go over overall policies towards the North, such as the upcoming inter-Korean high-level talks, the resumption of a tour program to the North's Mount Kumgang resort, and the lifting of South Korean sanctions on North Korea.

[Soundbite] JEONG SEONG-JANG(Sejong Institute) : "It seems that Seoul wants to speak directly with the U.S.about its recent contact with North Korea, as well as to reconfirm their policies in dealing with the North."

With top diplomats and defense chiefs of South Korea and the U.S. are scheduled to hold a meeting this month and next month, expectations as growing for a new political developments on the Korean Peninsula.

2. Improving Military Life

[Anchor Lead]

In a move to improve military life Korean soldiers will now be able to use communal mobile phones in the barracks. Also, starting today, visits by friends and family will be allowed on weekdays aswell as on weekends. Officials say it’s all part of efforts to stop abuse andimprove human dignity.

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Military authorities are to assess a communal mobile phone program, which allows soldiers of the same rank to share a mobile phone.Once the program is instituted, soldiers can call their parents without asking for permission from their superiors. Following a pilot operation in two companies a decision will be made as to whether the program will be expanded to other units.Visits to military bases were previously allowed only on weekends, but now families will be able to gain access to the bases on weekdays as well.The new regulation will provide more opportunities for soldiers to spend their evening hours after completing their daily routines with their families and ensure visits by self-employed family members, who tend to be busier on weekends.Even the soldiers at the frontline units won't be feeling so isolated anymore, as civilian visits will be permitted on holidays. Family members were previously banned from visiting their sons serving in units near the border.

[Soundbite] KIM MIN-SEOK(Spokesman, Ministry of National Defense) : "The Korean military will harness the wisdom andresolve of all soldiers to promote an open culture in the barracks worthy of public trust."

Minister of National Defense Han Min-koo stated that human dignity is the key to free democracy, a value Korean servicemen should defend. He even issued his first commander's letter stipulating that any inhumane practices in the barracks are acts that benefit the enemy.Military authorities have declared today, September 1st, as the first day of a new, open barrack lifestyle and are kicking off a month-long open base event, so that soldiers' parents can check for themselves how their sons are doing in the service.

3. Ferry Owner Buried

[Anchor Lead]

Over the weekend, business tycoon and de-facto owner of the sunken Sewol ferry YooByeong-eun was laid to rest. But the investigation into who is accountable for the ferry disaster still continues.

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The funeral for YooByeong-eun took place in a chapel at the Geumsuwon complex in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province.The funeral service began at 10am on Sunday.A long procession of mourners headed toward Yoo's burial site, which was arranged on the mountain behind the religious compound.Yoo's photo at the head of the procession shows him holding a camera.With Yoo's body laid to rest, the two-day service came to an end.Reporters were banned from the funeral service held in private.The Salvation Sect stated that 5,000 mourners visited over the two-day wake.

[Soundbite] Salvation Sect Follower(Voice Modified) : "(How do you feel about the funeral?) How do I feel? I feel uneasy and sad."

Immediately after the funeral, some followers publicly stated that authorities had framed Yoo for the ferry disaster in order to appease public opinion.Yoo's eldest son YooDae-kyun and wife Kwon Yun-ja and two other family members were temporarily released to attend the funeral. They have all returned to jail in Incheon.Now, the investigation into the ferry tragedy is closing in on Yoo's family and close associates.The elder Yoo's second son, YooHyuk-ki, was deeply involved in Yoo's businesses, and is believed to hold many answers to the investigation. However, his whereabouts remain unknown.It is not easy task to prove that the Yoofamily are the owners of assets hidden under borrowed names. Therefore, it is difficult for the prosecution to collect their hidden assets.Now that the funeral for YooByeong-eun is over, other allegations about his illegal activities are likely to be put in the past as well.

4. N. Korean Chuseok

[Anchor Lead]

KBS has obtained an exclusive video clip of North Koreans visiting their ancestors' graves on the Chuseok thanksgiving holiday. Most of the traditional customs have been preserved. However, there are some differences compared to how we do it here. Let's take a look.

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A memorial service table and a memorial tablet are set up in front of an ancestor's grave.The table is filled with newly harvested fruits, fish, cooked greens and songpyon, the traditional rice cake eaten on Chuseok.After completing the ritual of offering a glass of spirits and bowing, a man who appears to be the head of the family digs a hole beside the grave.

[Soundbite] "Who is in here? Grandmother. Grandmother is in here?"

He buries small portions of the food and covers the hole tight with soil. He then pours spirits over it.

[Soundbite] "Crows will come and eat the food if we don't bury it tight."

After the ritual, the family has a meal by the grave.This is because North Korean families don't hold separate memorial services at home on the morning of Chuseok.There is one more difference: North Koreans bow three times during the memorial service. Bowing twice is considered more customary in South Korea.

[Soundbite] Prof. KIM SEOK-HYANG(EwhaWomans University) : "The North Korean regime simplified the formalities of memorial services in a socialist manner. They then began holding memorial services again, believing that paying respects to ancestors would bring good luck. It seems that they bow three times during memorial services, because they consider two bows to be inadequate."

The video clip vividly illustrating North Koreans' visits to their ancestors' graves was taken two years ago, and obtained by KBS through a North Korean escapee.

5. Early Chuseok Harvest

[Anchor Lead]

The earliest Chuseok holiday in 38 years has forced early harvests of fruits for memorial services as well. But the frequent rainfalls and the lack of sunshine in August have rendered fruits tasteless and may even disrupt rice production.

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This is an orchard in Naju, South Jeolla Province where 20 per cent of Korea's pear produce is grown.However, due to rain, many pears have become black and rotten.Even the paper pouches wrapped around the undamaged pears are full of rainwater.Farmers are busy harvesting the fruit for the upcoming Chuseok holiday, but the current flavor of the fruit is a problem.

[Soundbite] KIM JIN-HO(Farmer) : "The fruits have been watered down, which negatively affects their sweetness."

Naju pears register 12 brix of sweetness on average. But this year's pears barely yeld above 11 brix on average.A lack of sunshine has made the fruits taste bland.The sunshine duration in August was only 62 per cent that of the previous nationwide level, and only 55 per cent for southern regions of Korea. It rained on average 2 out of 3 days, so crops have not seen much sunlight before harvest.Many of the rice grains of the early cultivated variety have failed to fatten up; rice flowers also bloomed five days later than usual. So this year's rice harvest is dependent on future weather.

[Soundbite] PARK WON-GWI(Regional Agricultural Research & Extension Services) : "The amount of sunshine determines the rate of rice cultivation."

Weather forcasters predict more rain nationwide this Wednesday and Thursday, as well as many cloudy days throughout the Chuseok holiday.Concerns are growing over the late summer rainstorms which have damaged fruit and rice production in certain regions.

6. Big Prawn Season

[Anchor Lead]

The season of prawns has come back. The fishing of the shrimp is now in full swing in the Western waters off South Korea. And fishers say they’re happy with this year's big catch.

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Fishermen are busy pulling in their nets at sea.The nets are filled with large, plump prawns.Back at port, there's hardly time for a break, as the fishermen immediately set to work plucking the prawns from the nets.The catch is so large that collecting the prawns takes longer than it does to catch them at sea.

[Soundbite] NOH CHANG-SEOP(Fisherman) : "I have been working as a fisherman for some 30 years. This is the first time I have seen such a big catch."

A daily average of three to four tons of prawns come in at this port, approximately a 60 percent increase from previous years.With this summer's low levels of precipitation, the salinity of the sea water was kept at an ideal level for the breeding and growth of prawns. Another reason for the bountiful catch is that South Chungcheong Province was not hit with typhoon damage this summer.Prawn festivals will be held up and down the west coast in South Chungcheong Province, starting with Namdang port.The consumer price for a kilogram of wild prawns is roughly between 25 and 30 U.S. dollars, 15 percent lower than in previous years.

[Soundbite] KIM SEUNG-JIN(Chairman, Namdang Prawn Festival) : "This year's catch is so good that visitors can enjoy their fill at a lower price."

Fishermen are rejoicing as their ships return from sea heavy with prawn, a delicious autumn delicacy.

7. Protecting the Birds

[Anchor Lead]

Chilbaldo islet in Dadohaehaesang National Park is a natural monument that's home to many marine bird species. But a foreign plant species has recently threatened its habitat. Take a look at the efforts to protect the birds.

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Chilbaldo is a small islet a two-hour boat ride from Mokpo, South Jeolla Province.This scenic, rocky islet is a paradise for marine birds.Migratory birds such as fork-tailed petrels fly here from Southeast Asia during the summertime to breed on these rocks.However, over the past five years, more than 400 fork-tailed petrels have died each year.The culprit is a foreign plant species called Achyranthes root, which originally grows on the mainland.The birds die because their wings get caught on the hook-shaped seeds of this plant.To protect the birds, Achyranthes root was removed from the islet by park managers, they planted a sedge variety called Carexboottiana in its place. And now, the population of fork-tailed petrels has been able to increase.Over the past three months 18,000 sedge plants took root on the island. If these efforts continue for the next three years, the islet will be home to a large colony of sedges.

[Soundbite] CHOI JONG-GWAN(Director, Dadohae National Marine Park) : "We will remove natural and artificial factors so that the birds can safely breed on the island."

Next year, Chilbaldo will become designated as an environmentally-protected zone, banning fishermen and their access to the island to protect the migrant birds.

8. Show Business Update

[Anchor Lead]

Singer Lee Seung-cheol held a concert in the U.S. along with North Korean youths to wish for Korea's reunification. And a sequel of the movie "The HighRollers" will open this week. Here's more from the world of show business.

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Singer Lee Sung-cheol and a group of North Korean youths performed on stage at Harvard University in the U.S.They sang the song "On That Day," which conveys the Korean people's wish for national reunification.The song was first unveiled at their performance on the Dokdo Islets the day before this year's Independence Day.

[Soundbite] LEE SEUNG-CHEOL(Singer) : "I thought people would be impressed to hear about the dreams of North Korean youths straight from them. I think everything went well, as planned."

The young North Korean defectors conveyed their hope that the concert would send a message of freedom and peace to North Korea.The sequel to the movie "Tazza: The High Rollers," which drew over 6.8 million viewers, is to be released on September 3. The movie's plot is based on a cartoon by Heo Young-man.The sequel was directed by Kang Hyung-chul, who also helmed the film "Sunny."The film begins with the appearance of actor Choi Seung-hyun, who plays the nephew of the legendary gambler Goni, who disappeared at the end of the previous installment.Actors YooHae-jin and Kim Yun-seok, who appeared in the previous film, were cast for the sequel as well.Singer Kim Gun-mo was a no-show for a concert in Gwangju, prompting some of the spectators to demand refunds for their tickets.The singer was to perform jointly with other singers at a concert on August 30 but failed to show up.The organizer of the concert is considering paying partial refunds.

9. Seat Belt Safety

[Anchor Lead]

Seat belts in automobiles vary in type and function by how well they can secure your body. Today we'll find out the latest models in safety belts and how to wear and inspect your seat belts properly.

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Car accidents are often quite tragic. So we are relieved when we hear news that lives have beenspared by wearing safety belts. Not long ago Korea banned standing rooms on intra-city buses. That's because all the passengers must put on their seat belts. The safety belts in most buses are two-point belts. But the most common type you see in ordinary vehicles are three-point belts, a much safer device than its two-point counterpart.

[Soundbite] Prof. KIM PIL-SOO(Daelim University College) : "Racing cars have stronger four or five-point seat belts. The more points a belt has, the better it can restrain the body. So it's better to have more points of attachment."

Then what is the proper way to strap on a seat belt?

[Soundbite] KIM DAE-UP(Researcher, Korea Transportation Safety Authority) : "In order for a seat belt to fully perform its safety function, an occupant must sit deep into the seat and adjust the belt height so that the lap belt is pulled snugly over the pelvis and the shoulder strap comes to the center of the shoulder.Secondly, you must make sure that the seat belt is not twisted. If the safety belt is worn without straightening out the twist, you could get serious injuries like a broken rib. Thirdly, don't recline the seat too much. When you get into an accident with the seat leaned back too far, the body could slide out under the belt and you could sustain intestinal rupture from the blow in the abdomen."

Here is how a pregnant woman should wear her seat belt.

[Soundbite] "A three-point seat belt instead of a two-point one could better protect the abdomen by dispersing the force of impact in an accident. When you have an aching back, insert a soft blanket between the safety belt and the abdomen."

Many people visit auto repair shops to check their cars ahead of long-distance travel for summer vacation. But not many car owners think of inspecting their seatbelts.

[Soundbite] "Seat belts?No, I never had my seat belts inspected."

But safety belts should be checked since they tend to wear out and should be replaced when needed. Here is a simple way to check the conditions of the seat belts in your car yourself.

[Soundbite] PARK BYEONG-IL(Auto Mechanic) : "I can pull to test whether the seat belt is functioning properly."

When pulled rapidly, a properly functioning belt locks to restrain the passenger, while a loose one keeps extending without catching onto anything. It is important to make sure that the belt can not only secure the occupant well but also releases and retracts easily in emergency situations. If the belt does not rewind like that, a person could be trapped by the seat belt and be in greater danger.

[Soundbite] "Mechanical functions in cars could deteriorate after about five years. So it's good to replace the belts believed to be not working properly in about five years."

The seat belt is an amazing invention that has saved countless lives. Don't forget to strap on your seat belt, whether it be a two-point or three-point device.