on this edition of arirang news for monday, september 12th... koreans celebrate chuseok thanksgiving holiday with families and traditional food, but also fight inevitable traffic as they start to return home. the south korean government is reportedly set to flex some diplomatic muscles in its tension with north korea regarding the inter-

korean tourism project. and the united states marks the 10th anniversary of the september 11th terrorist attacks and honors the memories of the more than 3,000 millions of koreans hit the road this monday to travel to and from their respective hometowns visiting their families for chuseok, korea's traditional thanksgiving holiday. our laah hyun-kyung gives us the updates on the nationwide traffic conditions. traffic began building up earlier on monday as many koreans traveled to their hometowns on the traditional thanksgiving holiday, chuseok. with the ministry of land, transport and maritime affairs predicting a total of 29 -point-3 million people to be on the move during the four-day chuseok holiday this year,... the nation's major highways saw heavy congestion throughout the day as not only those visiting their

ancestors' graves... but also people wishing to get away from the hustle and bustle of the cititi, all began to hit the road. usually, it takes about four and a half hours by car to travel between the capital seoul and busan in south gyeongsang province, but it took up to more than 9 hours at one point during the day. according to the korea expressway corporation, as of 10 pm korea time, traffic flows have eased on southbound lanes from seoul connecting to major cities... but seoul bound lanes are still experiencing heavy congestion. it takes about seven hours to travel from busan to seoul... and about five hours the opposite direction. from daejeon to the capital city, it takes about four hours,... and six and a half hours from gwangju to seoul. officials predict the northbound traffic flows to ease more early on tuesday morning. laah hyun-kyung, arirang news. and on chuseok... korean families mark the time of harvest by gathering together to share food, stories and gifts. arirang's kim yeon-ji

paid a visit to jeonju, north jeolla province to show us scenes of happy family reunions over the choicest of the year's harvest there. chuseok is celebrated every year on august 15th of the lunar calendar..., and is one of the biggest and most important holidays in korea. record numbers of koreans return to their homes far and near, as the three-day chuseok holiday offers a rare opportunity for family reunions with full-moon harvest celebrations. and a massive influx of chuseok visitors was also no exception in jeonju, north jeolla province, some 200 kilometers south of seoul. many packed the city's big outdoor markets and shops well into the eve of chuseok. and jeonju, a city boasting korea's historical charms, offered various cultural events in its hanok village, including experience corners for making songpyeon, a half-moon shaped rice cake steamed with pine needles for fragrance.

a symbol of the holiday, the rice cakes are made with glutinous rice powder dough, and filled with sesame seeds, beans and a host of other nutritious ingredients. korean "made with freshly harvested grains, songpyeon reflected farmers' wishes for another year of harvest. the reason why it is half- moon shaped is because our ancestors wanted things to get better, like the way a half-moon becomes a complete full-moon." it is customary for korean families to make songpyeon together for chuseok, like these families. korean "it was more fun and exciting to make songpyeon out here." for many, all the cooking and preparations are geared towards a ritual called charye , observed on the morning of chuseok. charye is a solemn ancestral memorial service that families perform to pay homage and give thanks to their deceased ancestors for a bountiful harvest. mr. lee nam-an, a native of jeonju, woke

up at the break of the day to supervise the ritual preparations. mr. lee's family members set out rows of food on the table, each at its rightful place. harvested fruits like pears are on the first row, vegetables and fish the second, then meat and fried food and lastly rice cakes. korean "performing charye on chuseok helps both the younger and older generations remember the grace of their ancestors." after offering food to the deceased, the lee's enjoyed the food. and the adults passed onto the younger members home traditions and stories of their forefathers. stand-up ed:lg "one of the important aspects of chuseok is fostering of family ties. koreans' observance of the traditional thanksgiving day shows how they value family and roots even in this modern age." kim yeon-ji, arirang news, jeonju.

although making songpyeon and performing the ritual charye are the main activities most families do to mark chuseok,... many people came out to enjoy the holiday with their families. our oh jee-hyun takes us to the korean folk village where traditional activities were specially organized. farmers music and dance,... acrobatics on a tightrope... these are some of the widely- known korean traditional performances. but even local residents rarely have the chance to see them these days,... so visitors from home and abroad at the korean folk village gathered and watched excitedly at the performers' detailed yet upbeat moves. stand-up "the village offers visitors the opportunity to play traditional games and to see some north korean folk performances." more than anything, people enjoyed their day out spending time with their families,... sitting back and relaxing with music playing in the background. and as several traditional games were prepared near the main performance stage,... children ran around trying them out.

korean "i came with my family to celebrate chuseok and i had so much fun playing traditional games like jumping rope and throwing arrows." english "visit the family who i haven't visited before. and just to experience south korea. dissolve what i like the best, i think all the culture, the buildings and some of the traditions as well, which i've read about but not seen some yet." and along the various activities prepared for chuseok,... visitors also got a glimpse of traditional houses from different regions of the country and the everyday life of the past. although most koreans still work long hours to prepare for the ritual charye in the morning on chuseok and celebrate the occasion through familiy reunions,... more people are now looking to have fun and a memorable chuseok... in unconventional ways. oh jee-hyun, arirang news. and now... we check on the scenes of harvest festival in china. homemade mooncakes are rarely seen in chinese households these days... since they are mass-produced in

factories. but families in beijing joined a mooncake- making workshop, for a taste of the tradition that they have missed for decades. our partner station cctv's wang yizhi tells us more. participation was the most important criteria at this mooncake making workshop. the tradition is hundreds of years old but still new to some. lotus seed paste is the most popular filling for mooncakes. it can also be mixed with other adventurous food like this. spanish bacon. knead the filling into a small ball, which in chinese culture, symbolizes the reunion of the whole family. chinese "i remember only one time i made mooncakes. it was in my childhood. making mooncakes is a tradition full of charm. my niece has never made mooncakes. so i took her here." the exterior of a mooncake is blended with salad oil, syrup and flour. in mass production,

preservatives are also added in this process. use the dough to wrap up the filling and squeeze it into a mold. then give it a few knocks. and you have a raw mooncake. in the past, factory- made mooncakes could be kept for up to 4 months. but recent food additive regulations have limited the usage of preservatives in all products, shrinking the shelf-life mooncakes by half. organizers for the workshop said they noticed a growing demand for healthier mooncakes among the participants. chinese "we guarantee that no harmful substances were added to the food. our participatns can see that in the process." chinese "self- made makes it the most trustworthy. that is part of the reason why i am here." the mooncakes are pigment-free too.

to make them more colorful, egg yolk was used instead, before the cakes were put into the oven. after 13 minutes of baking in 200 degrees celsius, the mooncakes are ready to be served. instead of the traditional choice of chinese tea, italian white wine was served with the mooncakes this time. a mix between eastern and western culture is widely accepted among these chinese. chinese "more and more people drink wine in china. the sour taste in the wine compliments the overly sweet mooncakes. this is how we blend the two different cultures." stand-up "in this increasingly modernized country, people still treasure their traditions. made with laughter and without preservatives, these mooncakes taste like happiness. wang yizhi, cctv, beijing."

korean military forces... who are serving their country thousands of kilometers away from their homes, also marked chuseok. the special forces unit members deployed around the world are having their own chuseok holiday. park ji-won tells us more. this is haiti... where a korean peacekeeping unit named "danbi" has been dispatched for earthquake relief and recovery activities. danbi unit members celebrate chuseok at a local orphanage, sharing korean traditional sweets with the children. and over in afghanistan, korea's military base "ashena unit" members are having a traditional memorial service for ancestors, while thinking of their families and faraway hometowns in korea. in lebanon, korea's "dongmyeong unit" is carrying out un-led peace keeping operations. they play traditional korean folk games with local residents, and also teach hangeul, or korean language, to them... while celebrating the harvest holiday. meanwhile, the "ahk unit" deployed in the united arab emirates... are focusing on their

rifle drills on the desert. the "ahk unit" special forces are helping train local troops to combat terrorism... through training like this parachute jumping session. likewise, the "cheonghae unit" deployed near the coast of somalia... is a naval task force,... aiming to protect civilian ships against pirates. they are undergoing maritime training even on this chuseok holiday... all for the sake of their military mission. sov "dear fellow citizens, the cheonghae unit is taking lead in protecting korean citizens and ships on this chuseok holiday." park ji-won, arirang news. south korea's vice minister of unification, uhm jong-sik, urged north korea to face... and resolve the problems regarding families who were separated by the korean war. at an event held for displaced north

koreans in time for chuseok in paju, gyeonggi province on monday... vice minister uhm said that resolving the issue of separated families will help bring prosperity to both koreas. he added that the south korean government takes the task seriously and is keeping up its efforts to find a solution. south korea is making a request this week... to international firms to refrain from investing in north korea's mount geumgang tourism resort. south korea's foreign ministry has said... that it will use all diplomatic channels to prevent foreign companies from controlling operations at the resort,... which was built and funded by south korea. officials decided earlier this month to ask other countries,... most likely china, the united states, and japan... not to invest in the resort... saying north korea unilaterally and unlawfully took over facilities there. the move comes after north korea launched a trial tourism program... to attract investors

from other countries earlier this month. seoul suspended joint tours to mount geumgang after the shooting death of a south korean tourist in 2008. trade volume between the two koreas fell by nearly 16-percent on-year... in the first seven months of this year. the korea customs service says the total trade volume between the two sides fell short of 9-hundred -60 million us dollars from january to july,... down about 180-million dollars compared to the same period last year. in terms of trade balance,... south korea's trade deficit with the north dropped to 62-million dollars,... down from more than 105 million dollars a year ago. observers attribute the drop to north korea's provocations against the south last year... and the resulting deterioration of inter- korean relations. a famous south

korean conductor arrived in pyeongyang, north korea, monday evening... for talks on setting up musical programs for north korean children. chung myung-hun ,... who leads the seoul philharmonic orchestra and doubles as a unicef goodwill ambassador... will stay in the north until thursday. observers say... the trip is another sign of easing tensions between the two koreas. this comes about two weeks after seoul allowed a religious delegation to visit pyeongyang... for a joint buddhist service. meanwhile, the united nations says... it will send humanitarian chief valerie amos to the north next month... for a first-hand look at the isolated state,... which has suffered chronic food shortages for years. over in the united states sunday... ceremonies were held around the country... to commerate the thousands of people... who were killed ten years ago in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. kang seok-ho reports. memorial ceremonies were held in the city of new york

and other places around the world on sunday. while the authorities in the us tightened security around the sites of the attacks and major cities, the family members of the dead and others gathered at ground zero, where the twin towers of the world trade center once stood. in new york, the names of the 2-thousand-7- hundred-49 people who died were read out loud, and there were moments of silence to remember the moments the two planes slammed into each of the twin towers. us president barack obama, attending the ceremony in new york... delivered a short speech, reciting a section from the bible. english "be still and know that i am god. i will be exalted among the nations. i will be exalted in the earths. the lord of hosts with us. the god of jacob is our refuge." and george w. bush also gave a short

speech, quoting a letter abraham lincoln wrote to a mother of a soldier who died fighting for his country. english "i pray that our heavenly father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement and leave only the cherished memory the loved and lost and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom." a memorial service was also held at the pentagon and another in the state of pennsylvania to remember those who fought back against the terrorists causing the plane to crash short of its intended target in washington dc. and around the world,... from china to france, people remembered the day by holding memorial services and displaying signs of support for the victims and their families. kang seok-ho, arirang news.

and... on the eve of the 9/11 anniversary... police in sweden arrested four men... on suspicion of preparing a terror attack in sweden's second largest city... goteborg-. the swedish security police declined to give further details about the arrests... and would not say whether they were linked to the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. police cordoned off the city's famous culture and arts arena and evacuated about 400 people who were attending a contemporary art gala there. libya's national transitional council says that... it will create an interim government within the next 10 days. according to the deputy head of the council and its current prime minister mahmud jibril,... the new inclusive interim government will include representatives from different regions in libya. he urged libyans to understand that the council has to move quickly to set up the new government... and this is not the time for revengeful acts.

meanwhile, gadhafi's loyalists attacked a key oil refinery facilities near the southeastern coastal city of ras lanuf on monday, killing at least 15 guards. guinea-bissau's - prime minister says... his country would welcome libya's ousted leader moammar gadhafi... if he were to seek refuge there. this is according to prime minister carlos gomes junior... on a radio broadcast over the weekend. libya has strong ties with guinea-bissau... which is not a member of the international criminal court,... which is seeking gadhafi's arrest. meanwhile, gadhafi's third son... saadi... has entered niger. a spokesman for niger's government says... saadi entered niger on sunday... in a convoy with nine other people. he added that saadi "has no status at all" in niger..., indicating that he has not been granted refugee status,... which would guarantee him certain rights.

greece has come up with a plan to meet its deficit goals for this year. the imposition of a new property tax. the embattled european country needs to raise 2-billion euros to avoid defaulting on its debts and to receive new aid packages. our song ji-sun has details. the greek government announced a new property tax plan sunday to cover a 2- billion euro shortfall in its budget targets this year,... which athens has promised international creditors in exchange for receiving fresh aid. in a news conference, finance minister evangelos venizelos said that the decision was made during an extraordinary cabinet meeting... amid growing fears of that greece could default in the weeks ahead. the tax, which will be collected through monthly electricity bills over the next two years, would average about 4 euros per square meter... and range between half a euro and ten euros depending on the neighborhood. venizelos also rejected speculations that greece could leave the eurozone... saying that "the scenarios are not serious for a country to

leave the union. greek "there is a lot of negative stereotypes about greece such as greece can't, greece won't, or that greece does not have a place in the eurozone. we have to refute this now." shortly after the announcement, greece's prime minister george papandreou asked greek citizens to join the government's efforts for structural reforms as there were going to be more battles before the country returns to growth. greek "now we have to make an extra effort so that we keep our commitments and give this battle a decisive to ensure our stable course, to keep away us from danger so no one can use the alibi and say we didn't do what we have agreed to." however, greeks have expressed skepticism about the new austerity programs. greek "i think these measures are good but the government are constantly after the poor and the rich are not affected." the greek government needs to balance its austerity measures with public anger, however,... as thousands of protestors took to the

streets on saturday and clashed with riot police. song ji-sun, arirang news. a nuclear plant exploded in sourthern france on monday... reportedly killing at least one and injuring four others. local authorities say... the marcoule site located near the mediterranean sea... exploded... but added that there was no radiation contamination. happy chuseok everyone, i'm yang un- jung with your weather forecast. hope you having a great time with your family and friends. the weather has been not too bad over the weekend, we've seen some wet weather here and there but the amount of the rain was definitely less than what we expected. we're currently under the influence of high pressure and guess what.... the system will stay with us at least until the end of this week. this means... we have no rain in the forecast, but we may have some cloudcover as the system starts to shift. temperatures will

warm up once again... we'll mostly stay in the upper 20s this entire week, so get out there and try to enjoy the last bit of summer while you can. here are your highs for tuesday, the last day of the holiday weekend. seoul and gwangju will bouce back up to 29 degrees. daegu and busan will be one higher at 30 degrees. daejeon will top out at 28 and jeju at 29. dokdo and mt. geumgang will be warmer as well, at 26 and 22, respectively. taking a look at the international weather... most of japan on tuesday will not only see nice and dry weather but spectacular sunshine as well, so enjoy it. beijing's also drying out on tuesday... but occasional showers may still break out in central and southern china. and more heavy monsoon rain to come for northern thailand, vietnam, laos and cambodia this week. down under... sydney will continue to enjoy sunny spells on tuesday, but an area of low pressure trough will affect southeastern

australia... bringing not only dark cloudy skies but even a chance for some showers, which will eventually extend into western new zealand. flying over to north america... gorgeous weather's on tap for much of the northeast and the midwest on tuesday, clear skies and plenty of warm sunshine are expected in these areas. much of the west coast is also looking nice and dry, but there are few left over thunderstorms across the south, from southern oregon to parts of wyoming and even into the mexican border on tuesday. down in south america, lots of sunny weather's in the forecast, as usual... southeastern brazil will clear out nicely with warmer temperatures... highs will be mostly in the mid to upper 20s. santiago's looking similar... 24 with sunny skies. buenos aires... will be slightly cooler... in the upper teens. into europe... heavy rain in moscow will take a break on tuesday... but cloudiness will still linger. berlin's looking similar... expecting partly cloudy skies.

london may turn slightly windy on tuesday and paris has a chance for some showers. rome and madrid however... will continue to be sunny and clear. lastly in africa... showers and thunderstorms in dakar will start to break out once again... with high heat and humidity. cape town's also expecting another rainy day, but steady rain in dakar will taper off, so only evening showers are likely on tuesday. that's all for today's weather. enjoy the rest of your evening and i'll see you back here tomorrow. 11 and that wraps up this edition of arirang news. thank you very much for watching... and for those of you in korea, hope you have a great rest of the chuseok holiday.