geumgang tourism resort... in response to pyeongyang's unilateral decision to clear out seoul's assets from the resort. this is the result of tuesday's meeting of south korean officials in seoul. the meeting comes just days after north korea launched a trial tourism program to attract investors from other countries. angry over seoul's suspension of tours after the shooting death of a south korean tourist in 2008,... pyeongyang demanded that seoul either participate in the new international tourism operation... or liquidate its properties and facilities there. the head of a north korean firm in charge of attracting foreign capital... has proposed a meeting with south korea's hyundai asan... to discuss property at the mt. geumgang resort in the north, where the north and south used to operate tours together. he said that it is up to the south korean company to operate, lease, or sell its assets there. yoo ji-hae tells us more. north korea's daepung international investment group,... a body in charge of attracting foreign capital to the reclusive state,... proposed talks with south korea'

however, seoul has announced that it will demand a set of pre- engagement actions from pyeongyang this week,... including a suspension of the north's uranium enrichment program and allowing international inspectors back into its nuclear facilities. meanwhile,... ri revealed that the north has recently suggested to washington a followup meeting to the one held in new york in july. moving on,... president lee myung- bak announced that the government has decided to foster the stem cell industry as a core new growth engine. this,... by investing around 90 million us dollars... in stem cell- related research next year. our yoo ji-hae tells us more. president lee myung-bak says korea will invest heavily in stem cell research next year... and take other steps to develop the industry as a "new growth engine" for the country's economy. during his biweekly radio address on monday morning... president lee said that the government will pump nearly 100 billion won... or roughly 90 million us dollars into stem cell-related research next year. the high-value-added industry is viewed as rewarding and

in pyeongyang, chung was introduced to the country's two orchestras. he had the opportunity to conduct the musicians, playing beethoven's 9th symphony as wewell as pieces from tchaikovsky and brahms. it was a first-time experience for the orchestras...as classical music repertoires are rare in the north. chung said the musicians there boasted a high level of musical proficiency and talents, and expressed his desire to introduce them to his own orchestra members in seoul. korean "when the music started, we immediately forgot about all other matters, including political issues. the members of the orchestras and i communicated through music. and i felt assured that we must play music together." and he enthusiastically talked about his plans for holding a joint south and north korea concert in december, this year. korean "i'd like for south and north korean orchestras to perform beethoven's 9th symphony together this december... and donate concert proceeds to help the needy in the north. although my previous efforts to do that failed because of politics, i

a group of south korean religious leaders arrived in pyeongyang this wednesday. the religious leaders from the south are expected to hold meetings... and a rare joint religious service with their north korean counterparts during their four-day visit. arirang's kim yeon-ji tells us more. a group of south korean religious leaders and representatives arrived in pyeongyang late wednesday afternoon... via the northeastern chinese city of shenyang. while in the north, the 24 delegates from the korean conference on religion and peace,... representing seven south korean religious groups including roman catholics, protestants and buddhists..., plan to meet with their north korean counterparts... and promote peace on the divided korean peninsula. this unprecedented joint trip to the north... was approved by the south korean government..., in recognition of the religious community's contributions to inter- korean exchanges... and its desire to strengthen inter- korean ties. they are expected to meet with north korean religious leaders in pyeongyang on thursday....followed b

he said however that in order for the talks to take place, pyeongyang must take a number of necessaryteps,... including abiding by its nuclear commitments and making credible moves toward denuclearization. regarding us secretary of state hillary clinton's meeting with her chinese counterpart in new york monday,... hammer said, clinton called on beijing to redouble its efforts to urge pyeongyang into taking those steps. meanwhile, us state department spokesman mark toner said the us does not have enough examples or evidence that shows pyeongyang is serious about nuclear disarmament and constructive dialogue. the spokesman also said washington hopes north korea can play an important part in improving relations with south korea lee ji-yoon, arirang the us ambassador to south korea, kathleen stephens, says... north korea will have to show that it's serious about denuclearizing... before it can re-engage with the other members of the six-party denuclearization talks. choi you-sun has more. us ambassador to seoul, kathleen stephens, says north korea must demonstrate its seriousness to denuc

he also reaffirmed seoul's willingness to help pyeongyang get back on its feet... once it chooses the path towards co-prosperity. korean "it is my hope to see north korea enjoy peace and prosperity by becoming a responsible member of the international community. when the north chooses the path to mutual benefit and common prosperity, we will be ready to help in this endeavor along with the international community." " . , ." another highlight of lee's speech was his call on world leaders to pursue "ecosystemic development"... which demands developed nations help developing countries maximize their capacity... so that they can achieve economic growth and development on their own. president lee's attendance at the general assembly... comes as korea marks the 20th anniversary of its official admission to the united nations. stand-up "on thursday morning, new york time... president lee myung-bak delivered another keynote speech at the high- level meeting on nuclear safety and security... emphasizing the need for transparency of nuclear facilites... and regional cooperation... as any nuclea

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 th

records show that in 2008, the us asked switzerland, japan and singapore to intercept pyeongyang's plans to illegally purchase banned goods. meanwhile, wikileaks disclosed that just before north korea's long-range missile test in 2009, washington had notified moscow it plans to ready its ballistic missile defense system mindful of the possibility that the taepodong-2 could pose a threat to us territory. choi you-sun, arirang news. the us-based organization.. human rights watch... and foreign journalists in tripoli have found documents... revealing close ties between libya and western intelligence agencies. hwang ji-hye has the details. documents found in an abandoned libyan external security office in the capital tripoli... show the close relationship between america's central intelligence agency and the moammar gadhafi regime... during the george w. bush administration. although cooperation between libya and western intelligence services was made public after libya announced the end of its weapons of mass destruction program in 2004,... the documents show libya's tight cooperation with

he said the north is capable of launching another attack any time... highlighting pyeongyang's two attacks on south korea last year carter said he will actively cooperate with other government agencies... and devise contingency plans with the help of washington's allies. a long-time us national security professional, carter directed military planning during the 1994 crisis over north korea's nuclear weapons program..., while serving as assistant secretary of defense for international security policy in the clinton administration. he is currently the under secretary of defense for acquisition, technology, and logistics in the obama administration. if confirmed, carter will replace william lynn, who is expected to leave the post later this year after more than two years on the job. kim yeon-ji, arirang news. the united states has decided to keep north korea on its list of countries with no religious freedom. the annual report from the us state department also included china, myanmar, iran and sudan. song ji-sun has the details. north korea has maintained its position on the list of countries

just after welcoming visitors, the head of pyeongyang's overseas investment agency announced the north's ambitious goal to usher in as many as 4-thousand tourists to mount geumgang on a daily basis, adding he plans to launch a luxurious cruise ship next year capable of carrying 9-hundred people. reports indicate talks are under way to directly link the resort to 16 chinese cities. chinese "this is a new tourism course. we have embarked on a new voyage. next year, we aim to attract 100-thousand tourists." the cash-strapped north divested south korean tourism operator hyundai asan of its exclusive rights at the inter-korean mount geumgang park, and decided to dispose of south korean assets at the resort last month. this was in retaliation for south korea's suspension of inter- korean tours after a south korean tourist was shot and killed by a north korean solider in 2008. accusing the north of violating inter -governmental and business-to-business agreements, the south korean government is examining appropriate legal and diplomatic countermeasures to protect investors' property rights. cho

just last november, pyeongyang disclosed its uranium enrichment program and the construction of a light -water reactor. the eu also expressed concern over north korea's decision to ban iaea inspectors from entering its nuclear plant in 2009. the agency now relies on information on north korea's nuclear activities from other sources. north korea abandoned the six- party talks aimed at scrapping its nuclear arsenal in april 2009 and conducted its second nuclear test just one month later. however, last month, russia announced that north korean leader kim jong-il had expressed his will to unconditionally re- engage with the five other parties during a summit with russian president dmitry medvedev. but the us says that pyeongyang's readiness to declare a moratorium on its missiles and nuclear weapons program is insufficient adding that washington is not interested in talks for talks sake. lee ji-yoon, arirang news. 61 years ago on this day, us general douglass macarthur led american and south korean troops in the incheon landing, the battle that helped drive the north koreans out of the sout

south korea and the us are both hopeful that pyeongyang will respond properly to what's asked of it. he also added that the us is supportive of inter-korean dialogue and improving relations between the two koreas. meanwhile, the former special coordinator for north korea policy, wendy sherman,... who is also the nominee to hold the third-highest position at the us state department says,... washington should take a "carrot and stick" approach in its dealings with north korea. english "secretary clinton, president obama have continued the six-party talks and continued, with the two-prong approach that secretary perry first put on the table." noting how working with north korea is frustrating and difficult,... sherman told the us senate foreign relations committee on wednesday,... that dealing with north korea is a task that requires "enormous persistence" with "no good choices" except to keep up economic and diplomatic pressure on the regime. she added that if north korea bows to international pressure over its nuclear and missile programs, then it might make sense to have meetings,...

six-party efforts to denuclearize the north, the international community must continue to condemn pyeongyang's nuclear ambitions. cho added anything other than a repeated strong denunciation, would only encourage the north korean regime to disregard the international community's calls for its return to the denuclearization process. the iaea also adopted an action plan on nuclear safety, containing measures highlighting transparency that aim to reinforce the safe use of nuclear energy around the world in the aftermath of the post- quake nuclear meltdown at japan's fukushima power plant. choi you-sun, arirang news. south korea is reportedly developing its own version of us patriot missiles. these long-range missiles, which are capable of traveling more than double the distance of the original missiles, will be used to intercept north korean ballistic missiles or fighter jets at high altitudes. military sources say the state-run defense agency for technology and quality... will complete preliminary research the on long- range surface-to-air missiles by the end of this year... while the military p