president lee myung-bak and us president barack obama call on north korea to take concrete steps toward denuclearization at the un general assembly. samsung electronics becomes the first company to make nand flash and dram memory chips at the 20-nanometer scale... and opens the world's largest memory production facility. the us fed unveils a plan, dubbed "operation twist," to push long-term interest rates to historic lows and stimulate the ailing economy. however, experts doubt its effectiveness. and typhoon roke has left at least 15 people dead or missing and scores more injured in japan. it halted subway operations in tokyo, stranding thousands of commuters. hello and welcome. in seoul,... i'm eoh jin- joo. and i'm devin whiting. president lee myung-bak... on wednesday... made a keynote speech at the un general assembly in new york,... touching upon a wide range of issues,... including promoting democracy and peace on the korean peninsula,... as well as his ideas for so- called,... "ecosystemic development." and on the third day of his trip to the us,... the korean leader also deliver

and on inter-korean policy, the opposition leader called president lee myung-bak's agreement with russia to build a natural gas pipeline through north korea... an important achievement to secure energy for the country. but sohn had a different view from the lee administration on carrying out the energy project,... saying that seoul should increase engagement with pyeongyang and look for more ways to work on joint projects toward peace and unification. korean "in order to proceed with the natural gas pipeline building project from russia and through north korea, we need peace on the korean peninsula. and we need to also work on an inter-korean railroad system to economically complete the pipeline project. so, we call for the government to reconsider the existing policy on north korea." commenting on the latest political phenomenon of entrepreneur ahn cheol-soo,... who gained popularity as a potential candidate to become the next mayor of seoul,... the opposition leader said politicians must realize that the korean people have lost faith in politics. sohn ended the speech by pledging to wo

president lee myung-bak will visit the united states on an official state visit sometime next month... at a rare invitation by president barack obama. the us state department says north korea has been arresting and even executing north koreans who communicate with overseas religious or other support groups. japan is mulling ways to hand over the nine north korean defectors who drifted into the japanese waters to south korea as they wish. the leaders of greece, france and germany will hold talks this week on ways to contain the greek debt crisis and prevent it from further roiling president lee myung-bak will visit the united states next month. there, he will hold summit talks with president obama on issues... including the pending free trade agreement and ways to deal with north korea's nuclear threat. yoo ji-hae reports. president lee myung-bak will travel to the united states next month for summit talks with us president barack obama... about the two countries' alliance, economic cooperation and north korea. korea's presidential office says... lee and obama will hold discussions on

and i'm devin president lee myung-bak called on the justice ministry... to thoroughly deal with corruption scandals that involve former high ranking government officials. it was the first time the president has commented on the issue since two of his close aides were implicated in bribery scandals. kang seok-ho reports. korean president ministry to thoroughly investigate alleged bribery scandals involving some of his close associates. at a cabinet meeting on tuesday, lee said that close relatives and aides to the president who are involved in wrongdoings should be dealt with in a more stern manner than regular citizens. korean- "we face a situation in our country where people with power, money and influence are being more and more corrupt. this must end, in order for us to become an advanced country." , , , , . the president also stressed that one of his administration's top priorities is eradicating corruption. this is the first time president lee has commented on the issue,... since two of his close aides, the former public relations senior secretary kim du-woo and former vice-culture mi

president lee myung-bak leaves for new york to attend the united nations general assembly and other events. lawmakers from both the ruling and opposition parties question officials from the financial services commission over the recent savings banks scandal on the second day of the annual audits of government ministries. a report says north korea has carried out cyber attacks on south korea's national health and welfare database system more than 40 times this year. that's nearly four times the figure in 2010. and standard and poor's cuts italy's long and short-term sovereign debt ratings by one notch citing the country's weakening growth prospects. hello and welcome. in seoul,... i'm eoh jin- joo. and i'm devin whiting. president lee myung-bak left for the united states on tuesday... to attend the un general assembly... as well as a high-level nuclear safety meeting in new york. on the sidelines of the meetings,... president lee will hold summit talks with other heads of state and make a stop in seattle before returning home on saturday. arirang's yoo ji-hae tells us more. president lee my

president lee myung-bak sent text and video messages to soldiers, civil servants and police on friday,... wishing them a joyful chuseok. in a video message... president lee thanked the troops for doing their best to defend the country... including those deployed to 17 countries around the world. to civil servants,... he encouraged them to weather the global financial turmoil... through courage and pride... just as they overcame the 2008 financial crisis. and the korean leader thanked the police and firefighters who will not be able to spend time with their families... during the holiday season. and as people head back to their hometowns, politicians have come out to wish them safe travels. the ruling and opposition party members greeted the travelers, and also did not lose the opportunity to explain their policies to the people. our kang seok-ho files this report. as koreans head back to their hometowns for the chuseok holiday, and with more than 4- hundred-70 thousand people per day estimated to go by train,... leading politicians gathered at seoul station on friday afternoon. stand-

president lee myung-bak has arrived in new york... to address the un general assembly... and attend a special nuclear safety meeting. on his first day there,... the korean leader received this year's world statesman award for his contribution to world peace, democracy and human rights. arirang's yoo ji-hae , traveling with the president, reports from new york. president lee myung-bak who is in new york to attend the un general assembly and other events... began his three-day new york trip tuesday by receiving this year's world statesman award... presented by the appeal of conscience foundation... for his contribution to world peace, democracy and human rights. previous recipients of the prestigious award include... former korean president kim dae-jung, british prime minister gordon brown... and french president nicolas sarkozy. during the awards ceremony... attended by some 350 businessmen from the us and national leaders... president lee expressed his determination to lay the groundwork to realize unification between the two koreas during the remainder of his term... while stressing

italy is on the brink of a greek-style financial crisis... with its debt approaching 120 president lee myung-bak will appear live on television broadcast thursday night at 10 p.m to discuss his views on a wide range of topics. during the 80- minute program,... president lee will speak with a four- member panel... including two professors and two tv announcers... about his so-called "ecosystemic development" drive,... as well as pending issues involving economic and social matters,... such as welfare and employment. the show, which comes just days before chuseok,... one of korea's biggest holidays,... will be his sixth live tv panel appearance... as he usually takes part in such events around major holidays. the area in which the majority of korea's premium apples are grown... has shifted from the south... to north of the country... specifically... to yanggu county, gangwon province. local farmers are busy harvesting the apples... ahead of chuseok. hwang ji-hye has more. korea's premium apples have traditionally come from the country's southern city of daegu in north gyeongsang province. however,

kim nari, arirang president lee myung-bak has arrived in seattle,... on his way back to korea... from the un general assembly in new york. upon arriving,... president lee held talks with the governor of washington... and met with korean residents there. our yoo ji-hae, who's traveling with the president,... files this report... from seattle. president lee myung-bak arrived in seattle thursday, local time... after wrapping up his three-day stay in new york... where he attended the un general assembly and a high-level meeting on nuclear security. upon his arrival... president lee held talks with washington state governor christine gregoire... on regional ties between korea and america's northwestern region, the korea-us alliance and the pending free trade agreement between the two countries. he then, attended a meeting with local korean residents later in the day... where he spoke highly of their contribution and respect they have earned within the american community... while calling for their active participation in next year's elections. the korean leader also said that it is likely t

president lee myung- bak is set to leave for new york tuesday... to attend the united nations general assembly and other events. upon his arrival on wednesday, korea time... president lee will receive the world statesman award presented by the appeal of conscience foundation... for his contribution to world peace, democracy and human rights. he will also make an official visit to the un headquarters... and deliver a keynote speech at the 66th un general assembly. on thursday... president lee is to make another keynote speech at a high-level nuclear safety meeting... aimed at discussing measures to ensure nuclear safety... and elaborating on the significance... of the upcoming 2012 nuclear security summit slated to be held in seoul. after wrapping up his new york trip... the korean leader will visit seattle to meet with korean residents there... before arriving samsung electronics' laptop computers have been winning excellent consumer reviews in the united states. consumer reports... a monthly magazine published by the us consumers union... has selected samsung's qx411 model and a comp

president lee myung- bak has called on koreans to visit traditional markets... to help revive regional economies... and boost the livelihoods of ordinary citizens. speaking in his bi- weekly radio address monday morning... president lee assured the people that prices of food for chuseok ancestral rites are lower at traditional markets... and the quality is just as good as food sold at major supermarkets. korean "recent research into prices of food for ancestral rites has revealed that prices in traditional markets were cheaper than those at major supermarkets by 20 to 30 percent on average. vegetables, wild edible greens and fish were found to be way cheaper." " , 2030% . , ." the korean leader also said... that traditional markets have been renovated in recent times... and that the government has permitted parking and temporary stopping on the streets around traditional markets during the holidays... which will be further expanded to ensure a more convenient environment for market-goers. he added that the government has designated the last saturday of every month... as the day to visi

president lee myung-bak has called on companies to hire more people without college diplomas... to eliminate discrimination based on academic background. meanwhile... the labor ministry has announced a series of measures to that end. our yoo ji-hae reports. president lee myung-bak announced friday... that more people with only a high-school diploma should be hired from now... so as to give them a chance to be nurtured into professionals. during a meeting on promoting his "fair society" campaign... at a local manufacturing company in gyeonggi province... whose more than 40-percent of the employees are non- college graduates... president lee said that his government plans to implement drastic measures to root out discrimination based on academic attainment. he expressed hope that there will be positive changes in the future... mentioning wednesday's conversation with tycoons of korea's conglomerates... where they pledged to hire 124-thousand new workers,... including 35-thousand with only a high school diploma. in regards to the country's ongoing social problem, the so -called academic inflati

president lee myung-bak and his colombian counterpart juan manuel santos have agreed to upgrade their countries' bilateral relations... and sign a free trade agreement. president santos will head back to colombia on friday. our presidential office correspondent yoo ji- hae reports. president lee myung-bak held summit talks with visiting colombian president juan manuel santos on boosting cooperative ties on energy, resources, science and technology. during thursday's summit at the presidential office of cheong wa dae... the two leaders agreed to elevate their relations to a "strategic cooperative partnership"... and set up systematic mechanisms... such as high-level conferences, business meetings and forums for comprehensive and long-term collaboration. they also agreed to sign a bilateral free trade agreement... whose talks began in 2009... by the end of this year... so as to expand their political alliance forged in blood to an economic alliance. two-way trade between korea and colombia nearly doubled in 2010 from a year earlier to 1 -point-8 billion us dollars... while korean export

with south korean president lee myung bak they'll agree to a partnership on free trade and investment and the two agreed their nations should work closely with the united states on north korea's nuclear program and its abductions of japanese nationals. while speaking with russian president dmitry medvedev, noda said japan and russia should resolve territorial issues involving the russian held islands north of japan. the two countries need to conclude a peace treaty. the two leaders agreed to take every opportunity to continue discussions. >>> south korea is to ask china and other nations to exercise restraint in investing in north korea's mt. kumgang tourism project. the joint project between the two koreas was suspended after a south korean tourist was shot dead by a north korean soldier three years ago. north korea is determined to continue the project to earn foreign currency. it has been calling on chinese and other foreign investors to help fund the project after losing south korea as a partner. last month north korea held a trial run of a ferry service for chinese tourists who w

noda also met south korean president, lee myung-bak on wednesday.reed to accelerate efforts to resume stalled negotiations. over a stalled partnership agreement. the pact would allow japan and south korea south korea to step up exchanges in the private sector. nool l he hopes to sign soon and lee said he hopes to expedite the talks. the leaders agreed to coordinate policies against their countries and the u.s. over north korea's nuclear development. they committed themselves to taking a broader approach in solving thorny issue, including a territorial dispute in the sea of japan. >>> the top nuclear envoys from china and south korea met on thursday in beijing. their discussions happened a day after the chief envoys talked about restarting the stalled six-party negotiations on the nuclear program. south korea delegate wi sung-lac and wii met the at the foreign ministry. china is trying to be the go-between for the two koreas. it's aiming to resume the six-party talks by the end of the year. but north and south korea remain far apart. south korea said

seoul on wednesday for a three-day visit, which will include summit talks with korean president lee myung-bak. us software giant microsoft is currently reviewing plans to build a cutting-edge data center in korea. the ceo of microsoft korea, kim james woo, revealed the plans on thursday to the chairman of the korea communications commission, choi see -joong,... during choi's visit to microsoft research silicon valley division. kim said korea rose as one of the most likely candidates for the data center after japan was hit by a massive earthquake in march. he said the superiority of korean it professionals was what mainly helped korea stand out among other contenders. united states trade representative ron kirk has expressed optimism that congress will pass america's pending free trade deals before the annual asia pacific economic cooperation summit in november. speaking to reporters on monday... kirk refused to comment on a detailed timetable... saying it will depend on how fast the white house and congress reach an agreement on a separate piece of legislation known as trade adjustment assist

president lee myung-bak is reportedly considering talks with russia... on building a pipeline to send gas from siberia... through north korea... to south korea. government sources here say... president lee could bring up the gas pipeline in meetings with russian president dmitry medvedev in november at either the apec summit... or the g20 summit in france. the sources also say... he might even visit russia. they added... that north korea and russia haven't proposed talks on the gas pipeline project yet... but the korean government is planning to propose a three-way committee to get the project started. a us think tank says the six-party talks aimed at denuclearizing north korea are objectively failing. head of the center for strategic and international studies, john hamre, also said at a forum in seoul... that the kim jong-il regime is an utter failure that is only capable of threatening its neighbors, and that history will eventually show that the regime is a complete fiasco. on the north's military provocations, he said the south and the us are prepared to respond and win when neces

president lee myung-bak will hold a bilateral summit with japan's new prime minister, yoshihiko noda,... during his visit to new york next week for the un general ly. during the meeting next wednesday... the two leaders are likely to cover a wide range of issues... including progress on a korea- japan free trade agreement, resuming the 6-party talks aimed at denuclearizing north korea and the recent proposal by korea to discuss japan's sexual enslavement of korean women during world war ii. the bilateral summit is the first since noda became prime minister early this month. president lee says the government will allocate research and development money next year for embryonic stem cell research. in a meeting on reviving stem cell r&d,... president lee said... the government is looking into a plan to financially support the newly emerging sector... adding that it has the potential to develop into a growth engine for the next generation. he said stem cell research also has commercial uses... but it is more rewarding in the sense that it could cure diseases... and ultimately lead to a gre

president lee myung-bak told japan's new prime minister yoshihiko noda that korea-japan relations should develop into a future- oriented one... and grow into something that could give hope to future generations. during his telephone conversation with the japanese leader on tuesday,... president lee stressed that the history between their countries should not hinder the path towards a better future. while expressing his hope to meet him soon... the korean leader also said that seoul-tokyo ties will contribute to peace and development in east asia. and prime minister noda agreed with the idea and asked korea to continue to cooperate with japan in north korea affairs,... especially the north's kidnapping of japanese citizens in the past. north korea is reportedly developing a gps jamming device... that can disrupt signals more than 100- kilometers away. this could pose a threat to the south korean military... which uses gps extensively to record its positions... and pinpoint the movements of the north. kim han-ul reports. north korea has been developing a new global positioning system or gp

according to some observers the conditions are worsening, due to the presentation for lee myung-bak to take over. there was a human rights act in improving the flow of information to north korea. currently this amounts to $2 million annually for human rights and democracy, 2 million for freedom of information programs, and 20 million to assist north korean refugees. i am interested in hearing from the panelists, if you have expertise in that area, about the views on how proposed cuts to our international affairs budget would impact on our ability to adequately continue to fund these programs that have been successful in getting information to date. although it's not in the realm of your testimony necessarily, i was very disturbed at the behavior of the north korean leadership in november of 2010 when it attacked south koreas a island of pyongyang with artillery shells, killing several people. this irresponsible behavior of a government really is unwarranted and really needs to have continued watching and scrutinizing as to their behavior. also, their continued adventurism into ballisti

according to some observers the conditions are worsening, due to the presentation for lee myung-bak to take over. there was a human rights act in improving the flow of information to north korea. currently this amounts to $2 million annually for human rights and democracy, 2 million for freedom of information programs, and 20 million to assist north korean refugees. i am interested in hearing from the panelists, if you have expertise in that area, about the views on how proposed cuts to our international affairs budget would impact on our ability to adequately continue to fund these programs that have been successful in getting information to date. although it's not in the realm of your testimony necessarily, i was very disturbed at the behavior of the north korean leadership in november of 2010 when it attacked south koreas a island of pyongyang with artillery shells, killing several people. this irresponsible behavior of a government really is unwarranted and really needs to have continued watching and scrutinizing as to their behavior. also, their continued adventurism into ballisti

incentive to oppose kim jong-il because they're lives are based on the successful transition to lee myung-bak. we have to assure them they will have a stake in the future. because north koreans are citizens under south corear, south korea has an important role to play, and that they should convene a tribunal of respect judges to begin the prosecution of those in the regime responsible for the political prison camps and other atrocities. there are 23,000 eye witnesses now, and we should start naming the names of those who are committing these crimes. when north korea finally opens up, i believe we will be even more horrified at the atrocities that the kim regimes committed against the north korean people today that are beyond our imagination. we'll face the same questions the world faced when the allies librated the nazi death camps. what did you know and what did you do to help stop the tragic circumstances? thank you, mr. chairman. >> ms. scholte, thank you for your testimony and your leadership. all those year all these years, and for that very incisesive testimony. we'll now her from miss

incentive to oppose kim jong-il because they're lives are based on the successful transition to lee myung-bak. we have to assure them they will have a stake in the future. because north koreans are citizens under south corear, south korea has an important role to play, and that they should convene a tribunal of respect judges to begin the precution of those in the regime responsible for the political prison camps and other atrocities. there are 23,000 eye witnesses now, and we should start naming the nes of those who are committing these crimes. when north korea finally opens up, i believe we will be even more horrified at the atrocities that the kim regimes committed against the north korean people today that are beyond our imagination. we'll face the same questions the world faced when the allies librated the nazi death camps. what did you know and what did you do to help stop the tragic circumstances? thank you, mr. chairman. >> ms. scholte, thank you for your testimony and your leadership. all those year all these years, and for that very incisesive testimony. we'll now her from miss kim