NEWS BRIEF

[Anchor Lead]

Unification Minister Kwon Young-se says it is possible North Korea is capable of firing an intercontinental ballistic missile at a normal angle. In a radio interview on Monday, the minister also predicted the North will likely conduct tests and deliver provocations depending on its relations with South Korea and the U.S. Regarding North Korean leader Kim Jong-un accompanying his daughter Ju-ae to public events, Kwon said it clearly shows his intention to extend the Kim family's rule into the fourth generation. However, the minister added North Korea is a patriarchal society and it is still early to regard Kim Ju-ae as an heir apparent.
A cable car system will likely be built and operated over Seoraksan Mountain in Gangown-do Province. The environment ministry's regional office in Wonju gave conditional consent to an environmental impact assessment report on the project, ending a 40-year dispute. But the Wonju office said more measures are needed to protect habitats of endangered wild species. With the conditional consent, administrative procedures have reached the final stage, paving the way for the project to begin in the spring of 2024.
The Bank of Korea predicts the Chinese economy's rebound from the pandemic shock will stimulate Korea's economic growth rate by 0.1 percentage point. The central bank said exports of flagship products, like mobile phones and semiconductor chips, to China will begin recovering soon. The return of Chinese tourists will also greatly boost the sales of the nation's service industries. Amid the pandemic, the number of Chinese tourists to Korea plunged from six million in 2019 to 200,000 last year. But the figure is expected to jump to two million this year.