Yonhap News Summary

The following is the second summary of major stories moved by Yonhap News Agency on Monday.

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Rival parties divided on outcome of Yoon-Biden summit in run-up to June 1 elections

SEOUL -- Both the ruling People Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party sought Monday to paint the results of the weekend summit between President Yoon Suk-yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden in their favor ahead of next week's local elections.

The PPP touted Yoon, saying he produced successful outcomes from the summit that took place about 10 days after he took office, while the DP raised concern that Yoon's tilting toward Washington could raise the ire of China.

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(LEAD) S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases hit 17-week low as omicron wave recedes

SEOUL -- South Korea's new COVID-19 cases fell to a 17-week low Monday, as the omicron-driven surge has slowed in recent weeks.

The country added 9,975 new infections, including 17 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 17,967,672, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.

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S. Korea joins U.S. and others in condemning Russia for Ukraine invasion

SEOUL -- South Korea, the United States and five other countries on Monday condemned Russia for its invasion of Ukraine in the latest diplomatic pressure on Moscow to end the unprovoked war of aggression.

Russia's war in Ukraine has destabilized the global economy and global supply chains and caused a rise in food insecurity and volatility in energy markets.

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Seoul issues first ozone warning this year

SEOUL -- Seoul saw its first ozone warning of the year take effect on Monday in most parts of the city.

The Seoul city government said the warning was issued at 2 p.m., as ozone density in the 21 districts of the city was between 0.123 and 0.137 parts per million (ppm).

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S. Korea's 1st lunar orbiter set for Aug. launch named Danuri

SEOUL -- South Korea said Monday it has named its first lunar orbiter scheduled to be launched in August Danuri.

Danuri -- a portmanteau of the Korean words for moon and enjoy -- was chosen from a national naming contest held from Jan. 26 to Feb. 28. It was suggested by a doctorate student in new materials engineering at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology and was chosen among 62,719 submissions, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT.

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Police question first lady in writing about allegations of false academic records

SEOUL -- Police plan to question first lady Kim Keon-hee in writing about allegations of false academic records, Seoul's police chief said Monday.

Choi Gwan-ho, commissioner of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, told reporters that the written investigation planned for Kim is not necessarily an implicit assumption of her acquittal and the final decision will be made after her answers are accepted.

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Allies to discuss strategic asset deployment through existing defense dialogues: official

SEOUL -- South Korea and the United States will use their existing defense dialogue channels to discuss last week's summit agreement between Presidents Yoon Suk-yeol and Joe Biden on the deployment of America's strategic military assets here, a Seoul official said Monday.

At the Seoul summit Saturday, Biden reaffirmed the U.S.' commitment to deploying its strategic assets "in a timely and coordinated manner as necessary," amid growing concerns about North Korea's possible provocations like a long-range missile or nuclear test.

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Seoul to phase out residential COVID-19 treatment centers by end-May

SEOUL -- The Seoul city government will phase out all its residential COVID-19 treatment centers across the capital by the end of this month amid the receding of the pandemic, officials said.

In their fight against COVID-19, Seoul and other regional governments operated residential treatment centers to quarantine and treat patients with mild cases.

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S. Korea to wait for N. Korea's response to aid offer with no deadline set: ministry

SEOUL -- The South Korean government will wait for North Korea's response to its offer of cooperation against the COVID-19 outbreak, leaving the door open for sending aid through international organizations, the unification ministry said Monday.

Last Monday, the ministry attempted to send a fax message to the North through their joint liaison office to offer working-level consultations on the pandemic and medical assistance, including vaccines, masks and test kits.

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(2nd LD) Exports up 24 pct during first 20 days of May; trade deficit widens

SEOUL -- South Korea's exports rose 24.1 percent in the first 20 days of May from a year earlier on robust demand for chips and petroleum products, but the country suffered a trade deficit on high fuel costs, customs data showed Monday.

The country's outbound shipments stood at US$38.6 billion in the May 1-20 period, compared with $31.1 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service.

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