Execution Report

[Anchor Lead]

North Korea has neither confirmed nor denied the execution of North Korean Defense Minister Hyon Yong-chol, but it has called the South’s National Intelligence Service’s report that Hyon was killed a provocation against leader Kim Jong-un. Pyongyang is threatening military retaliation.

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North Korea issued its first reaction through its propaganda channel three days after South Korea's National Intelligence Service announced the purging of North Korea's defense minister Hyon Yong-chol. North Korean propaganda site denounced the South Korean authorities for defaming its leader by mentioning reign of terror and purging, calling it a huge, unforgiveable provocation and high treason. While mentioning the name of President Park Geun-hye several times, Pyongyang threatened that Seoul would not be able to escape a fiery rain of annihilation if South Korea kept on with its verbal abuse. However, there weren't any direct comments about Hyon Yong-chol's execution.

[Soundbite] Prof. Nam Sung-wook(Korea Univ.) : "If acknowledged, Kim Jong-un's reign of terror will become a fact, thereby isolating the North from the international community. So North Korea seems intent on wrapping up this incident by blaming South Korea."

Therefore, North Korea may continue for some time its ambiguity strategy of not confirming Hyon's execution. As Pyongyang bristles at Seoul's announcement of Hyon's purging, tension is again mounting between the two Koreas, with the private sector exchange programs already seeing disruptions.

NK-China Border

[Anchor Lead]

A number of South Korean drug dealers have been producing narcotics in cooperation with North Koreans to help Pyongyang earn foreign currency according to prosecutors, who also say North Koreans have also attempted to assassinate anti-North Korea activists in the South.

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Three people who had the skills to produce methamphetamines, including a 62-year-old man identified as Kim, came into contact with a North Korean spy in China back in 1996. The two sides agreed to produce the drug in North Korea in a facility provided by Kim and his accomplices using their materials and technologies, and split the drugs in equal amounts for each side. Kim and his accomplices bought equipment in China and smuggled it to North Korea via a freight train running between Dandong and Sinuiju. They also secretly shipped the materials for drug manufacturing from Busan, South Korea to the North Korean city of Rajin via a cargo ship. The gang's illicit activities were disclosed through a confession from a North Korean defector who used to work as a spy before escaping from the North. Prosecutors have arrested the three. Two of the three including Kim were even hired by North Korean spies to conspire in the assassinations of anti-North Korea activists such as former Workers' Party international secretary Hwang Jang-yop. They received around 46,000 U.S. dollars from the North in return for their services, but their plan was never realized because Hwang died before it could be implemented. Prosecutors have expanded the investigation to find out whether there are more accomplices.

3. NK-China Border Crossing

[Anchor Lead]

The atmosphere on the North Korea-China border is rather uneasy as Pyongyang purges high-ranking officials. Armed deserters and refugees are fleeing the country. A KBS news team approached the border to within just 10 meters to find out more about what is going on in one of the world's most enigmatic countries.

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This is the North Korea-China border, which is transected by the Tumen River. This is one of the bridges connecting North Korea to China. The bridge appears to have been destroyed a long time ago. The road stops just 10 meters from North Korean territory, leaving the isolated country open for people to see. An electric fence stands along the riverside. And a large dish antenna is set up right in front of a military guard post to detect mobile phone signals. These are cutting-edge equipment mobilized to beef up border patrol.

[Soundbite] (Resident of Hunchun, China) : "Since this is a border area, radars has been set up to detect mobile phone signals."

A new guard post is being built with bricks. When North Korean soldiers spot the reporters, they suddenly put their guard up and pass the binoculars among themselves to keep their eyes on the journalists. In a North Korean village beyond the bridge there are even soldiers staying in such a small town. With North Korea seeing growing numbers of refugees and armed deserters from the military, it's tightening its vigilance in areas along their border with China.

4. Bribery Investigation

[Anchor Lead]

The probe into the Sung Woan-jong list scandal has entered the second stage. The investigation into the remaining six figures mentioned in the list, apart from Hong Joon-pyo and Lee Wan-koo, is also gaining pace.

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The special team of prosecutors investigating the Sung Woan-jong scandal are analyzing various accounting documents they have obtained from the Seosan Scholarship Foundation, including details of the scholarship and operation funds. The foundation was founded by the late Keangnam Enterprises Chairman Sung Woan-jong back in 1991. It has been suspected of serving as Sung's private political organization. Prosecutors have reportedly found evidence that the foundation had used part of the donations received from Keangnam Enterprises for purposes other than scholarships, and are trying to figure out whether the money in question had been used for political purposes. Now that the probes into South Gyeongsang Province Governor Hong Joon-pyo and former Prime Minister Lee Wan-koo are almost over, it appears that prosecutors are trying to secure evidence regarding the remaining six figures mentioned in Sung Woan-jong's suicide note. Sources say prosecutors have requested the Justice Ministry to provide materials on the special amnesty that was granted to Sung in 2007. Meanwhile, the decision on whether to indict South Gyeongsang Province governor Hong and former prime minister Lee will likely be made this week.

5. Refitting Helicopters

[Anchor Lead]

The South Korean military will reoutfit their outdated 500MD helicopters into unmanned aerial drones. The Army is also developing a cutting-edge weapons system to counter North Korean threats.

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The 500MD helicopter was put into service by the South Korean Army in the mid-1970s. Armed with machine guns and missiles, the light-attack helicopter can fly at a maximum speed of 280 kilometers an hour. All 250 of them are outdated and ready to be retired. The South Korean army has been working on turning the 500MD helicopters into unmanned aerial drones. The military is hoping that the unmanned 500MDs will be resurrected as threats to North Korea's armored units when they are deployed in a joint operation with the large Apache attack helicopters. The Army also unveiled its cutting-edge weapons, such as a state-of-the-art helmet that displays the flight speed, altitude, and field situations. The South Korean military expects the unmanned 500MD helicopters and other advanced weapon systems to become potent threats to North Korean tanks along with the AN-2 aircraft for stealth sabotage operations and the special forces' hovercraft infiltration.

6. Metabolic Syndrome

[Anchor Lead]

A survey has found that the number of metabolic syndrome patients in Korea has reached 10 million people. Those suffering from this condition should take extra caution because their risk of a heart attack soars with every ailment related to the disorder.

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This image shows an abdominal section of a man in his 50s. He was diagnosed with metabolic syndrome because the circumference of his belly measures 40 inches, and he also has hyperlipidemia and high blood pressure.

[Soundbite] Choi Seung-hwan(Metabolic Syndrome Patient) : "I attend corporate dinners at least four times a week, eating meat and drinking soju."

The number of metabolic syndrome patients surged by 1.4 million in just four years, reaching almost 10 million cases. About 80 percent are people aged 50 and over. They develop the disease as a result of aging, westernized diets and lack of exercise. Those who suffer from multiple diseases caused by metabolic syndrome have a higher risk of suffering a heart attack. Patients who only have high blood pressure are 1.9 times more likely to suffer from a heart attack. The risk of a heart attack for those who also have diabetes and smoke rises by a factor of 13, and for those who have abdominal obesity in addition to the symptoms mentioned above the risk soars 68-fold. That's because each of these conditions simultaneously attacks the arteries. Restoring narrowed arteries is not easy. Therefore, to prevent the condition from worsening it's important to get rid of excess fat in the abdomen through exercise and to maintain blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol at normal levels.

7. Homemaker Inventions

[Anchor Lead]

Homemakers sometimes come across bright ideas about new inventions to make their lives more convenient. Often times those ideas get developed into new useful products. Here is the story.

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As cold water is poured in and a loop is pulled up, steam rises over the plastic bag. 15 minutes later, frozen and dried ingredients have turned into curry with rice. This instant self-heated meal, which will soon be supplied to the military, was invented by a mother with a son.

[Soundbite] Kim Jeong-mae(Inventor of Instant Self-Heated Meal) : "Conscripts will surely miss home cooked foods their moms make. With my invention, they can have hot meals at anytime, anywhere."

This 360-degree rotating cane was invented based on the human ankles' ability to move and turn. With its three feet, the cane can support the user's weight and help them to walk safely on a slippery floor. The invention of anti-slip golf shoes was inspired by lizards that can walk on walls. This exhibition features some 260 bright inventions by women, including a simple clothes organizer. Some homemakers' small but useful ideas are making lives more convenient.

8. Entertainment News

[Anchor Lead]

Idol boy group Big Bang's latest song "Loser" is enjoying huge popularity, following its release early this month. The song has topped major music charts for 17 straight days. This and more coming up in today's entertainment news.

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Idol boy group Big Bang's newest song "Loser," which was released on May first, took first place on major daily music charts for 17 days in a row until Sunday. Analysts say that the song is enjoying unusually huge popularity, given the recent trend that rankings on music charts change every day. Big Bang will release a new song on the first day of each month until August and hold concerts overseas starting in Guangzhou on May 30th. Veteran singer Cho Yong-pil's first album released in 1972 will be re-produced in a long-playing record. The reproduction will contain Cho's representative songs like "Please Come Back to Busan Port" and "My Love." The superhero movie "Avengers 2: Age of Ultron" drew more than 10 million moviegoers in South Korea on Sunday, 25 days after its release. It has become the first movie to pass the milestone among films released in South Korea this year. The Avengers sequel is the fourth foreign movie to set the record, following Avatar," "Frozen" and "Interstellar." It has also reached the mark in the shortest period, breaking Avatar's record at 39 days.

9. Dishonest Packaging

[Anchor Lead]

Packaged or bundled products can tempt shoppers who believe in the old adage, buying in volume saves money. But in fact, some dishonest shop owners have been found to take advantage of their customers when it comes to this. Here’s more.

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Large supermarket chains lure customers with discount events and thank-you gifts.

[Soundbite] "I think that bundled products are cheaper."

We checked if bundled products are indeed cheaper. A bundle of three packs of this microwavable steamed rice costs around two dollars and 70 cents. But for six packs you have to pay almost 7 dollars. That means that when buying six packs you have to pay about one dollar and 50 cents more than buying two three packs.

[Soundbite] Kim Yeon-hwa(Korea Nat'l Council of Consumer Org.) : "We found that seven out of 24 bundled items were more expensive than the same items sold individually."

This time we checked products sold in large quantities. A 500-gram container of chili pepper paste "gochujang" costs around two dollars and 70 cents, but one kilogram of the same paste costs more than six dollars. That's around 70 cents more than two 500-gram containers.

[Soundbite] Kwon Hee-jin(Seoul Resident) : "How can they charge more for larger products when they cost less to pack?"

We made an experiment by assigning different prices to the same wet tissue product - one for 1,000 won and the other for 990 won. The quantity of tissues was marked differently under the price. The product that cost 10 won less contained 20 fewer tissues. We asked passers-by to attach stickers to the product they would buy for the given prices. More people picked the product that cost 990 won.

[Soundbite] Kim Ji-yeon(Seoul Resident) : "I'd rather buy a product that costs 10 won (1 cent) less, so I picked the one that costs 990 won(USD $. 90)."

The people didn't pay much attention to the quantity marked below the price. The price "990 won" turned out to be more appealing.

[Soundbite] Prof. Chae Jung-min(Seoul Cyber Univ.) : "To consumers the difference between a 4 digit number and a 5 digit one is enormous. It largely determines whether a certain product will sell well or not."

The rule that buying in high volume saves money holds true among many consumers. But unfortunately some retailers capitalize on this to fool their customers, so comparing the prices thoroughly before buying anything is key.