Yonhap News Summary

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

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(LEAD) Local virus cases at 1-month high, cluster infections biggest hurdle in virus fight

SEOUL -- The number of daily local coronavirus cases in South Korea spiked again to over 100 for the first time in nearly one month Thursday, as sporadic cluster infections at senior care hospitals and other facilities continued to climb amid eased virus restrictions.

The country added 121 more COVID-19 cases, including 104 domestic infections, raising the total caseload to 25,543, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

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(2nd LD) N.K. leader pays respects to fallen Chinese soldiers

SEOUL -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited the cemetery of Chinese soldiers who fell during the 1950-53 Korean War to mark the anniversary of their participation in the conflict, state media said Thursday.

It appears be in line with Kim's push to further strengthen bilateral ties with China at a time when the North is in need of support from the ally amid stagnant economic growth and stalled nuclear negotiations with the United States.

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N. Korean nukes highlight importance of strategic deterrence: U.S. commander

WASHINGTON -- The United States must reinvigorate its discussion on strategic deterrence against continued and growing threats from other countries, including North Korea, the chief of the U.S. Strategic Command said Wednesday.

"Given Russia and China's expanding capabilities and increasingly aggressive behavior and those posed by nuclear North Korea and possibly Iran, we must reinvigorate the national conversation on the importance of strategic deterrence," said Adm. Charles Richard, commander of the U.S. Strategic Command, based at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska.

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Ministry says it transports daily necessities, not military equipment, onto THAAD base

SEOUL -- The defense ministry said Thursday that it has been bringing daily necessities for troops and construction equipment to be used to improve old living facilities onto a THAAD missile base by ground.

Thursday's shipment onto the base for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in the central town of Seongju, however, does not include any missiles or other military equipment, according to the ministry.

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Key suspect in Lime fund scandal makes additional claims in 2nd letter from prison

SEOUL -- A key suspect in the Lime fund scam case has made additional claims that he identified two prosecutors he lobbied during a justice ministry probe and that he was tipped off about an ongoing investigation against him.

In a second letter sent from prison to Yonhap News Agency on late Wednesday, Kim Bong-hyun, a prime suspect in the financial fraud case involving Lime Asset Management Co., reiterated that he did lobby sitting prosecutors but strongly denied his alleged relations with ruling party politicians or Cheong Wa Dae.

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Fine dust expected to reach 'bad' levels

SEOUL -- Fine dust concentrations are expected to rise to "bad" levels on Thursday due to an inflow of fine dust and yellow dust from China and elsewhere, authorities said.

According to the Air Quality Forecasting Center, which is affiliated with the Ministry of Environment, the fine dust reading in the capital area and South Chungcheong Province will likely be "bad" in the morning, followed by Gangwon Province, Daejeon, Sejong, North Chungcheong Province, South and North Jeolla Provinces and Jeju Island in the afternoon and South and North Gyeongsang Provinces at night.

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'The Man Standing Next' chosen as S. Korea's 2021 Oscars entry

SEOUL -- A political thriller depicting the intense power struggle among former President Park Chung-hee's top aides before one of them assassinated him in 1979 will represent South Korea in next year's Oscars.

The Korean Film Council (KOFIC) said Thursday that it has chosen "The Man Standing Next" out of 13 films as the country's entry for the best international feature film category of the 93rd Academy Awards.

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