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≡ Boshingak Bell Ceremony To Mark 74th Liberation Day
A bell-tolling ceremony will be held at the Boshingak Belfry in Seoul's Jongno District tomorrow to celebrate the 74th Liberation Day.
Lee Ok-sun, a survivor of Japan's wartime sexual slavery, and descendants of independence fighters will ring the historic bell 33 times.
Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon and Seoul city council chairman Shin Weon-chul will also attend.
Choir performances and a flag parade will precede the event slated to kick off at noon.■
[2019.08.14]
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≡ Govt Releases 600 Prisoners On Occasion Of Liberation Day
The justice ministry has released 647 prisoners on the occasion of the 74th anniversary of Liberation Day.
The ministry said they were released from 53 prisons across the country this morning, a day ahead of the national holiday.
Those chosen were known to have conducted petty crimes while those incarcerated for drunk-driving, fraud, sexual crimes or other serious acts were not considered.■
[2019.08.14]
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≡ Moon Urges Measures Against Japan's Dokdo Claim, Radioactive Water: Yonhap
President Moon Jae-in has instructed government officials to actively deal with Japan's territorial claims over the Dokdo islets and the potential release of radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean.
According to Yonhap News, citing an informed source on Tuesday, Moon also mentioned the need for coordination with international organizations on the issues.
His calls come amid unrelenting trade and diplomatic disputes between the neighboring countries.
Adding to negative public sentiment over Japan's export curbs, it was revealed that materials on the official website of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics show Dokdo, South Korea's easternmost islets, as Japanese territory.
Moon was also pointing to recent reports of the possibility that Japan may discharge contaminated water into the sea from its tsunami-devastated nuclear power plant in Fukushima to deal with storage shortage on-site.■
[2019.08.14]
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≡ Seoul Stocks In Midday Trade
Turning to the local bourse, stocks in Seoul are trading _______ at this hour.
As of noon, the benchmark KOPSI was up/down/flat _____ percent at _______ while the tech-heavy KOSDAQ was up/down/flat _____ percent at _______.
The Korean currency was trading at _______ won against the U.S. greenback, up/down/unchanged _____ won from yesterday's close.■1,222[2019.08.14]
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≡ Trump Cites S. Korea As Example Of US Protecting Borders
U.S. President Donald Trump has cited South Korea as an example where the United States has helped other countries at the expense of its domestic problems.
Trump was addressing workers in Monaca, Pennsylvania on Tuesday, when he took to boasting about his administration's achievements in "putting America first."
He said the U.S. protects South Korea's border but does not protect its own borders.
Trump was apparently referring to Washington's commitments in South Korea under their Mutual Defense Treaty.
Last week, Trump was seen as attempting to increase pressure on Seoul to contribute more to the cost of maintaining American troops on the Korean Peninsula, tweeting that Seoul had agreed to pay "substantially more" to Washington.■
[2019.08.14]
