Yonhap News Summary

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

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S. Korea, U.S. voice regret over N. Korea in high-level phone talks

SEOUL -- The top diplomats of South Korea and the United States held phone talks Friday and expressed regret over North Korea's rejection of Seoul's offer to provide economic aid in exchange for denuclearization steps, the foreign ministry here said.

Foreign Minister Park Jin and his U.S. counterpart, Antony Blinken, discussed the matter hours after reports of Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, dismissing President Yoon Suk-yeol's "audacious" initiative as the "height of absurdity."

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Samsung holds groundbreaking ceremony for next-gen chip R&D complex

SEOUL -- Samsung Electronics Co. held a groundbreaking ceremony Friday for its new semiconductor research and development (R&D) complex south of Seoul, in a move to bolster its global leadership in cutting-edge chip technology.

The South Korean tech giant plans to invest around 20 trillion won (US$15.06 billion) by 2028 for the 109,000-square-meter complex within its Giheung campus in Yongin, 50 kilometers south of Seoul. The envisioned facility is expected to help Samsung lead in areas of advanced research for memory and system semiconductors.

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Brad Pitt says 'Bullet Train' is perfect summer action film filled with action, comedy

SEOUL -- American actor Brad Pitt said Friday that his latest movie "Bullet Train" is a perfect summer adventure film filled with eye-catching action and comedy that would lighten up Korean people suffering from the yearslong pandemic.

"It's great to bring this film here, something we shot over lockdown. We think it's got great action, which is really explosive," the Hollywood star said in a press conference in Seoul. "It's a great summer action adventure, hilarious. It's a perfect summer film."

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Celltrion receives approval to sell anticancer biosimilar Vegzelma in Europe

SEOUL -- South Korean biopharmaceutical firm Celltrion Inc. said Friday it has received an approval to sell its anticancer biosimilar Vegzelma in Europe.

According to the company, the European Commission recently approved the sale of the biosimilar, also known as CT-P16, which referenced Switzerland-based Roche Holding's blockbuster pill Avastin.

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Top court strikes down guilty verdict for ex-presidential chief of staff over Sewol sinking

SEOUL -- The Supreme Court on Friday struck down a guilty verdict for a former presidential chief of staff charged with lying in a document submitted to the National Assembly in connection with the 2014 sinking of the ferry Sewol.

Kim Ki-choon, chief of staff to then President Park Geun-hye, had been sentenced to one year in prison, suspended for two years, for falsifying the time Park was briefed on the deadly accident in an attempt to fend off criticism the government bungled its response.

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(LEAD) S. Korea issues 48-hour standstill over African swine fever case

SEOUL -- The agricultural ministry has issued a 48-hour standstill order on pig farms and related facilities in the eastern Gangwon Province after confirming this year's second African swine fever (ASF) case.

The movement ban effective through 10:30 p.m. Saturday came as the animal disease broke out at a pig farm in Yanggu, a county located about 175 kilometers northeast of Seoul, late Thursday, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

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