Agreement at Last

[Anchor Lead]

High-level inter-Korean talks at last produced results early Tuesday morning to defuse tension on the peninsula. North Korea expressed its regret over the mine attacks that maimed two South Korean soldiers, while South Korea put a stop to its anti-North Korea loudspeaker campaign starting at noon Tuesday.

[Pkg]

Amid escalating tension South and North Korean officials at last reached a deal and announced a six-point agreement, early Tuesday morning. The key issue for the latest talks was North Korea's apology for the recent mine blasts near the border. North Korea expressed its regret over the incident and pledged to prevent similar occurrences in the future.

[Soundbite] Kim Kwan-jin(Presidential Advisor for Nat'l Security) : "The North expressed its regret over the injuries of South Korean soldiers caused by the recent mine blasts in the Demilitarized Zone near the Military Demarcation Line."

North Korea also agreed to lift a "quasi-state of war" declared on its frontline areas. In return, South Korea will accept the North's demand to stop the anti-North loudspeaker propaganda.

[Soundbite] "As long as no abnormal incidents occur, the South will stop all loudspeaker propaganda broadcasting near the Military Demarcation Line, starting at noon August 25th."

South Korean Presidential Security Adviser Kim Kwan-jin explained that the condition of resuming the loudspeaker campaign in case of an abnormal incident, is tantamount to North Korea promising to prevent recurrences of similar attacks.

2. Inter-Korean Cooperation

[Anchor Lead]

As another result of marathon inter-Korean talks, South and North Korea have also agreed to hold family reunions around the Chuseok thanksgiving holiday, and government-level talks either in Seoul or in Pyongyang as soon as possible.

[Pkg]

Seoul and Pyongyang discussed a wide range of issues related to the development of inter-Korean relations at the marathon talks between high-level officials of the two Koreas. The most noteworthy result was the agreement to hold reunions of separated families around the Chuseok national holiday this year and to make such reunions a regular practice in the future.

[Soundbite] Kim Kwan-jin(Presidential Advisor for Nat'l Security) : "The South and North have agreed to hold and continue family reunions starting from the upcoming Chuseok holiday."

A working-level meeting between Red Cross officials from both sides will take place in early September to start preparations for the family reunions. The two Koreas have also agreed to set a framework for government talks in order to bring inter-Korean relations to a higher level.

[Soundbite] "The South and the North will soon hold government-level talks either in Seoul or Pyongyang to improve bilateral relations."

President Park Geun-hye said earlier that if the talks ended well, they would pave the way for coexistence between the two Koreas. If the two sides manage to resume government-level talks, they will likely hold positive discussions of the lifting of the May 24 sanctions and the resumption of Mt. Kumgang tours. Another outcome of the recent talks was an agreement to bolster private-sector exchanges in various areas.

3. Dramatic Negotiations

[Anchor Lead]

With a situation hurtling toward military confrontation with no solution in sight over the weekend, the delegates stuck it out to reach this successful agreement this morning. Pyongyang went so far as to express its regret over the recent provocations on the border, a rare outcome.

[Pkg]

The South Korean government resumed its anti-North Korea propaganda campaign after 11 years following the land mine blasts in the Demilitarized Zone that maimed two South Korean soldiers on August 4th. The North countered by shelling the loudspeakers near the border. However, the regime kept claiming that the mine and artillery attacks were not it’s doing even while its senior officials were engaged in talks with their South Korean counterparts. Nonetheless, Seoul stuck to its stance that it will not stop the psychological warfare against the North without Pyongyang's apology. As a result, South Korea was able to reach a dramatic agreement with North Korea, the prime objective of which was the suspension of the loudspeaker campaign. In particular, North Korea's expression of regret is considered a rare outcome.

[Soundbite] Kim Kwan-jin(Presidential Advisor for Nat'l Security) : "North Korea has been generating anxiety among our citizens and getting concessions in return. But Pyongyang must have realized that such actions will never work with the South Korean government."

The presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae assessed that the latest inter-Korean agreement is the result of its determination to sever North Korea's vicious cycle of provocation in which the North triggers military provocations to create a crisis in order to obtain a chance for dialogue and compensation.

4. Leukemia Breakthrough

[Anchor Lead]

Leukemia is a hard to treat disease with a high recurrence rate. Korean researchers have become the world's first to discover the cause of the recurrence of chronic myelogenous leukemia. The finding could help pave the way for finding a cure.

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The TV show "Autumn in My Heart" was a huge hit not only in Korea but in many other countries. It's a heartbreaking story about a woman who suffers from leukemia and eventually dies, leaving her boyfriend alone. Chronic myelogenous leukemia, which mostly affects adults, is regarded as an incurable disease because of its high recurrence rate of 40 percent. Cancer drugs such as Gleevec can kill leukemia cells temporarily, but they cannot destroy the stem cells that supply leukemia cells, which results in frequent recurrence of the disease. Korean researchers have become the world's first to find out the cause of the recurrence, which lies in small protein fragments in the body. The body consists of multiple protein fragments. When they enter cells through an enzymatic reaction involving dipeptide transporters, stem cells begin to grow. The researchers hope to develop a new cancer drug within two or three years after conducting clinical trials this year based on their findings.

5. Reducing Bridge Tolls

[Anchor Lead]

The often-criticized expensive tolls for the Incheon International Airport Expressway will be substantially lowered come September. This move is likely to affect other privately funded expressways accused of charging high tolls.

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The Incheon International Airport Expressway spans 40.2 kilometers, from the Banghwa Bridge to Incheon International Airport. Drivers have been complaining about the tolls, which are 2.6 times higher than other expressways run by the state-affiliated Korea Expressway Corporation.

[Soundbite] Song Jae-heung(Driver) : "I have to pay about 13 dollars in round trip tolls, which is very expensive."

As of September 1, tolls for small passenger cars will be lowered by about 84 cents and larger vehicles by a dollar-eighty-four. Over the past few years, private businesses have been borrowing money at low interest rates. They have been refinancing their projects by sharply cutting back on their capital and shifting to low-interest loans, which made the impending toll adjustment possible. It is also very likely that the lower tolls for the Incheon International Airport Expressway could lead other privately funded highways to follow suit. For instance, the overseers of the Yong-in-Seoul Expressway are working out the details of a new toll plan and the northern route of the Seoul Ring Expressway is under pressure to cut tolls as well. It remains to be seen whether low-interest loans will compel privately funded expressways to lower their tolls.

6. Typhoons & Red Tides

[Anchor Lead]

While local governments around the nation are preparing for the approaching typhoon, there may be a silver lining to the coming storm. Some hope that they will help minimize the rapidly spreading damage caused by red tides.

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Liquefied oxygen is infused into a fish farm. A large tank is filled with clean seawater in advance. Facilities are being inspected beforehand to prepare for potential damage from red tides and the approaching typhoon.

[Soundbite] Kang Tae-ho(CEO, Fish Farm) : "If the water supply is cut, we have liquefied oxygen and water pumps subsidized by the Pohang City government, as well as power generators and other liquefaction equipment."

Red tide damage has put the entire nation on high alert, but some say that the approaching Typhoon Goni could make the red tides subside. Once the typhoon arrives, its gusty winds will likely disperse red tide organisms, lowering their density. The winds could also push cold water from the deeper areas of the ocean toward the surface, thus preventing red tides from spreading.
The clouds brought by the typhoon could in turn create unfavorable ecological conditions for red tide organisms due to a lack of sunshine. However, experts say it's too early to rest assured because if the typhoon brings heavy rains, nutritive salts contained in soil will likely flow into the ocean.

7. Drunk Driving Incident

[Anchor Lead]

A drunk driver violently lashed out at a bus driver who honked at him. He even smashed the bus window and front door, terrifying the passengers on board. Here’s a look.

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This car glides across lanes. It suddenly stops and the driver gets out. He storms toward a bus shouting and begins to kick at the front door. He's furious the bus driver honked at him. Still fuming, the man brings construction material from a nearby site and strikes the front window on the bus driver's side several times. The window is smashed and glass shards pour over the bus driver's head, startling the passengers.

[Soundbite] Bus Driver(Voice altered) : "The drunken man came over to a window and swore at a lady asking her to open the door. All the female passengers fled to the back of the bus."

The injured bus driver is being treated at a hospital. When the police arrested the 37-year-old perpetrator surnamed Kim, he was completely intoxicated with a blood alcohol content of 0.116 percent. Kim has been booked on charges of violating the Road Traffic Act.

8. Entertainment News

[Anchor Lead]

The rock outfit Yoon-do-hyun Band or YB will perform as a star guest at a leading Russian rock festival. The band will also sing a song by the late Soviet musician Viktor Tsoi, still adored my many Russian fans. This and more in our culture news roundup.

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The Yoon-do-hyun Band or YB will grace the stage at the V-ROX festival, the largest music festival in Russia. Performing on the main stage on August 29, YB will sing in Russian the song "Blood Type" by legendary Russian rock star Viktor Tsoi who was a third generation ethnic Korean. Some 70 bands from around the world including the US and UK will take part in this year's V-ROX festival. Korean action flick "Assassination" is rising in the accumulated box office rankings, currently standing as the tenth most watched film in domestic theaters to date. The film drew nearly 11.6 million moviegoers in just one month and its success continues, having already surpassed hit Korean films "The Attorney" and "Tidal Wave-Haeundae" in overall ticket sales. Park Yoo-chun, a member of the boy band JYJ who will be starting his military service on Thursday, will greet viewers one last time with a documentary film entitled "The Piano." Park donated his voice as a narrator free of charge in the film documenting the life story of Ye-eun, a visually-impaired piano prodigy.

9. Ice-Cold Drinks

[Anchor Lead]

For many people, there's nothing more refreshing on a hot summer day than an ice-cold beer. But, when temperatures are high, cold beer becomes an even hotter commodity. Here's more.

[Pkg]

Beer tastes differently according to the temperature. The higher the temperature, the weaker is the beer's ability to capture carbon dioxide and maintain foam, which in turn affects its taste and aroma. Here's how to make your beer cold again in a short period of time. All you need is a napkin, some water and aluminum foil. Wrap one of the beers with a napkin soaked in water, and the other one with aluminum foil. Then keep the three beer cans refrigerated for ten minutes. Compared with the beer that was refrigerated unwrapped, the beer that is wrapped with a wet napkin got seven degrees colder. The beer wrapped with aluminum foil became colder by four degrees.

[Soundbite] Prof. Choi Eun-jung(Ewha Womans Univ.) : "When a beer can is wrapped with a wet napkin, the moisture inside the napkin evaporates as it absorbs the heat. Aluminum foil, for its part, helps the chilly air in the fridge to reach the beer faster due to high thermal conductivity."

To make beer cold outdoors, use ice and salt. We put one beer in a bowl filled with ice, and the other one in a bowl filled with ice and salt, and checked them five minutes later.

[Soundbite] Kim Sang-hoon(Consumer) : "Beer inside the bowl filled with ice and salt is about three times colder."

The beer that was kept in an ice bowl came out to 19 degrees, while the beer that was kept in the bowl with ice and salt was recorded at five degrees colder, measuring 14 degrees Celsius.

[Soundbite] Prof. Choi Eun-jung(Ewha Womans Univ.) : "When salt is mixed with ice, the melting point becomes lower, making the ice melt faster. The temperature also drops faster when salt melts in water."

Another way to enjoy cold drinks in the summer is to make a slush using a carbonated beverage. Just shake the drink rigorously and put it in the freezer. About an hour later take it out and shake slightly. The drink is still in a liquid state, so it will turn into a slush right away. Using these simple rules of science, you can enjoy cold drinks throughout the hot summer or even have some fun with your kids conducting these easy scientific experiments.