Yonhap News Summary

The following is the first summary of major stories moved by Yonhap News Agency on Wednesday.

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(2nd LD) More students return to school amid new surge in coronavirus cases

SEOUL -- More than 2 million more South Korean students returned to school Wednesday as the country saw a resurgence of confirmed novel coronavirus cases.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) confirmed a total of 40 new cases, highest in 49 days, in the morning. Among them, 36 cases were reported in densely-populated Seoul and its surrounding areas.

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(2nd LD) New virus cases spike on club-linked infections, another looming cluster

SEOUL -- South Korea's new virus cases spiked by the most in nearly two months on Wednesday as the country grapples with a steady rise in club-linked transmission and yet another cluster infection looms.

The country reported 40 new cases, including 37 local infections, raising the total coronavirus caseload to 11,265, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).

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In shift of stance, ruling party presses lawmaker-elect Yoon to clarify scandal

SEOUL -- In a clear shift of stance, the ruling Democratic Party (DP) is raising calls on its lawmaker-elect Yoon Mee-hyang, a longtime activist for wartime sexual slavery victims, to clarify various suspicions raised against her and her civic group.

The DP's pressure on Yoon for an explanation marks a clear departure from the wait-and-see stance it had maintained since Lee Yong-soo, a victim of the Japanese military's World War II sexual slavery, accused Yoon and her organization of accounting malpractices and other wrongdoings in a press conference on May 7.

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U.S. nuclear forces are ready and deter all adversaries, including N. Korea: Pentagon official

WASHINGTON -- The United States' nuclear forces are ready and deter all adversaries, including potentially North Korea, a Pentagon official said Tuesday after the communist nation vowed to build its nuclear deterrence.

Drew Walter, currently performing the duties of deputy assistant secretary of defense for nuclear matters, said the U.S. is aware of the size of North Korea's nuclear stockpile and it is not as large as those of other nuclear-armed nations.

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S. Korea to provide US$4.9 mln for U.N. aid project for N. Korea

SEOUL -- South Korea will provide US$4.9 million for a U.N. aid project for North Korea aimed at enhancing understanding of global statistical principles in the communist nation, the unification ministry said Wednesday.

A civilian-government committee on inter-Korean exchanges approved the plan to fund the project of the U.N. Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), according to the ministry. The money will be spent over the next six years, with $720,000 set aside for this year.

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Unification minister to visit Han River estuary to renew commitment to inter-Korean cooperation

SEOUL -- Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul was to visit an estuary of the Han River near the border with North Korea on Wednesday in an effort to renew South Korea's commitment to jointly using the waterway with the communist nation.

Under a military agreement signed at a 2018 summit between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the two sides agreed on the joint use of the Han River estuary along their western border and conducted a joint waterway research.

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Late 5th-early 6th century funeral relics unearthed at royal tomb complex

SEOUL -- A pair of ceremonial gilt-bronze shoes, believed to have been made between the late 5th century and early 6th century, were unearthed from an excavation site at a royal tomb complex in southeastern South Korea, cultural heritage authorities said Wednesday.

The Cultural Heritage Administration said researchers have unearthed the artifacts -- a pair of gilt-bronze shoes, a silver ornament piece made to be attached on belts and a slew of equestrian adornments among others -- from the 120-2 excavation site inside the Daereungwon, a Silla-era royal tomb complex in Gyeongju, some 371 kilometers southeast of Seoul.

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Seoul stocks trade low on Sino-American dispute worries

SEOUL -- South Korean stocks continued to trade lower late Wednesday morning on concerns over the Sino-American dispute amid the new coronavirus pandemic.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 5.02 points, or 0.25 percent, to 2,024.76 as of 11:20 a.m.
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