Yonhap News Summary

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

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(2nd LD) LG Electronics Q3 profit estimated to have risen 25 pct on-year

SEOUL -- LG Electronics Inc. said Friday its preliminary third-quarter operating profit jumped around 25 percent from a year earlier.

The tech company said its profit for the July-September period was predicted to come in at 746.6 billion won (US$529 million), up 25.1 percent from 540.7 billion won from the year-ago period.

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(LEAD) Seoul shares end 3-day winning streak on rate hike woes

SEOUL -- South Korean stocks closed lower Friday, ending a three-day winning streak, amid lingering concerns over the Federal Reserve's aggressive monetary tightening and a global economic recession.

After volatile trading, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 5.02 points, or 0.22 percent, to end at 2,232.84.

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LG Energy Solution shifts to operating profit in Q3

SEOUL -- LG Energy Solution Ltd. on Friday estimated its third-quarter operating profit at 521.9 billion won (US$369.5 million), turning from a loss of 372.8 billion won a year earlier.

Sales increased 89.9 percent to 7.64 trillion won. The data for net income was not available.

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Yoon meets Applied Materials chief, hails company's investment in S. Korea

SEOUL -- President Yoon Suk-yeol met with the chief of U.S. semiconductor equipment maker Applied Materials (AMAT) on Friday, hailing the company's recent decision to invest in South Korea as a symbol of the two countries' strong alliance.

Yoon thanked AMAT CEO Gary Dickerson for deciding to build a research and development facility for semiconductor equipment in South Korea, an announcement that was made during the president's trip to New York last month.

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(News Focus) Regional tensions soaring amid N. Korea's provocations, allies' tit-for-tat

SEOUL -- Tensions on the Korean Peninsula appear to be on a perilous escalatory trajectory, with North Korea dialing up nuclear and missile threats, and South Korea and the United States determined to make "stronger-than-before" responses, analysts said Friday.

In just under two weeks, Pyongyang has staged six rounds of missile provocations, including Tuesday's launch of an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) that overflew Japan. The allies have staged tit-for-tat exercises, including Friday's naval drills involving the USS aircraft carrier.

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S. Korea, U.S., Japan agree on more efforts against N.K. cryptocurrency theft

SEOUL -- Top South Korean, U.S. and Japanese nuclear envoys on Friday agreed to redouble joint efforts to block North Korea's nuclear and missile program financing through cryptocurrency theft, according to Seoul's foreign ministry.

They also agreed to strengthen international cooperation to foil the secretive North's illicit trade via maritime routes.

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Exports of agro-fisheries products hit record high through Sept.

SEOUL -- South Korea's exports of farm and fisheries products grew 11.4 percent on-year for the first nine months of this year on solid overseas demand for Korean food, data showed Friday.

Outbound shipments of agricultural and fisheries goods came to US$9.11 billion in the January-September period, representing the largest-ever tally for the period so far, according to the data by the Korea Agro-Fisheries and Food Trade Corp.

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N. Korea prints stamps marking legalization of new nuclear weapon use doctrine

SEOUL -- North Korea on Friday unveiled a new set of postage stamps to commemorate the recent codification of its nuclear weapons policy amid heightened tensions on the peninsula.

The Korea Stamp Corp. published three stamps, one of which features a newspaper article introducing a new law adopted last month that allows the regime to launch an "automatic nuclear strike" if attacked.

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Ex-unification minister questioned over 'blacklist scandal'

SEOUL -- Prosecutors questioned former Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon on Friday as part of an investigation into allegations that while in office, he forced the head of a ministry-affiliated foundation to resign during the previous administration.

Cho is suspected of forcing Sohn kwang-ju, a former chief of the Korea Hana Foundation, to step down in 2017, even though about a year was left in his term. The foundation was formerly known as the North Korean Refugees Foundation.
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