Download Note: The following scripts are presented by KBS WORLD Radio

http://world.kbs.co.kr
Note: The following scripts are presented by KBS WORLD Radio. Unless otherwise
specified, the scripts are for your personal and non-commercial use.
Date :
September
24 2014 (KST 2000)
Park Calls for Unlocking Opportunities amid Climate Change
Anchor: President Park Geun-hye unveiled ways to tackle climate change at the
UN Climate Summit on Tuesday in New York. She also pledged to increase
South Korea’s contribution to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to up to 100
million dollars.
Our Bae Joo-yon has more.
Report: The UN Climate Summit opened at the UN headquarters in New York
on Tuesday amid the participation of leaders from 116 countries.
President Park Geun-hye delivered a keynote speech, calling for unlocking new
opportunities amid the climate change.
[Sound bite: President Park Geun-hye (English)]
“We need to see climate action not as a burden, but as an opportunity. The
tiniest change in how we think can later make a world of difference. How we
view the climate agenda - as boon or bane - will bring huge differences.
Investing in the chance to unlock new energy industries and jobs can ignite
fresh engines of future growth.”
The president also called for each country’s active participation toward the
Green Climate Fund (GCF), which is the key financial mechanism for
developing countries to respond to climate change.
[Sound bite: President Park Geun-hye (English)]
"For developing countries, however, cutting CO2 can be a burden. To help them
invest in needed capabilities and build markets, the developed world should
transfer technology and know-how."
“The Korean government pledges up to 100 million dollars to the GCF, including
the 50 million we are currently paying.”
Park also co-chaired a session on climate finance later in the day.
She also held bilateral summits on Tuesday with leaders from Spain, Egypt and
Uganda.
On Wednesday, the South Korean president will deliver a keynote speech at the
UN General Assembly and unveil South Korea’s vision on establishing peace
and unification on the Korean Peninsula. She is expected to call for the
international community’s cooperation toward realizing the aim.
Bae Joo-yon, KBS World Radio News.
Washington, Pyongyang Collide on N. Korean Human Rights
Anchor: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has strongly denounced North
Korea’s political prison camps, referring to them as an “evil system.” Kerry
issued the criticism on Tuesday at an event in New York on North Korean
human rights violations. In response, the North strongly protested the criticisms
made at the ministerial meeting, calling the accusations a “human rights
commotion.”
Our Kim Soyon has more.
Report: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has called on North Korea to shut
down its political prison camps.
Throughout his eight-minute speech at the Event on Human Rights in North
Korea held in New York on Tuesday, the U.S. top diplomat referred to the prison
camps as an evil system.
Hosting the ministerial event, he stressed that what goes on inside North Korea
– systematic repression, collective punishment, arbitrary execution, penal
colonies, prison camps – is unfathomable to nearly the entire world.
[Sound bite: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry]
“The gravity, scale, and nature of these violations reveal a state that does not
have any parallel in the contemporary world... You should shut this evil system
down."
Kerry added that “torture and forced abortions are routine” in the North’s
political prison camps.
He said that the U.S. looks forward to working with South Korea, the European
Union, Australia, Japan and other nations to forge a strong UN resolution
against the human rights violations in North Korea.
He also stressed that the sentencing of Americans to labor camps without a fair
trial is as unjust as it is reprehensible.
At the meeting, South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se, on his part,
proposed inter-Korean dialogue on North Korea's human rights issue.
[Sound bite: South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se (English)]
"There is no reason why South and North Korea cannot hold human rights
dialogues as well as broad consultations on humanitarian issues."
The minister then urged the North to comply with the recommendations made
by the UN Commission of Inquiry (COI) on the North's human rights conditions.
In response, Ja Song-nam, North Korea’s ambassador to the UN, strongly
protested the criticisms of its human rights situation made at the meeting on the
sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
[Sound bite: North Korean Ambassador to the UN Ja Song-nam (Korean)]
"Why were they [the U.S.' and other countries'] afraid when we said we wanted
to participate? It's because their lies would be exposed."
Ja told reporters in New York on Tuesday that the United States is lying about
the human rights situation in the North.
Referring to the latest criticisms as “human rights commotion,” he argued that
the U.S. refused the North's request to attend the ministerial meeting because it
is distorting the human rights situation in North Korea.
Pyongyang is expected to again strike back at Washington's criticism of its
human rights issue as its foreign minister is scheduled to speak at the UN
General Assembly for the first time in 15 years later this week.
Kim So-yon, KBS World Radio News.
US Bans Anti-personnel Mines Except on Korean Peninsula
The United States has announced that it will ban the use of anti-personnel
mines everywhere except on the Korean Peninsula.
The U.S. State Department said in a statement on Tuesday that the U.S. will not
assist, encourage or induce anyone outside the peninsula to engage in activity
banned under the Ottawa Convention, a treaty that prohibits the use, stockpiling,
production and transfer of anti-personnel landmines.
The U.S. made the Korean Peninsula the only exception, citing the peninsula's
"unique circumstances." The U.S. also vowed to destroy stockpiles of antipersonnel landmines that are not required for the defense of South Korea.
Washington, however, did not elaborate on if and when it will join the convention.
About 160 countries have joined the 1999 convention, but South Korea has not,
citing the deterrence effects against North Korea in the Demilitarized Zone
(DMZ).
S. Korea Adds 3 Gold in Shooting, 1 Gold in Rowing at Asiad
South Korea shooters grabbed three more gold medals at the Incheon Asian
Games on Wednesday, the sixth day of the Asiad.
The team of Na Yoon-kyung, Eum Bit-na, and Jeong Mi-ra won a gold in the
women's 50-meter rifle prone event, adding together a score of one-thousand855-point-five points.
The team defended their title in this category from the 2010 Asian Games in
Guangzhou, China.
The second gold in shooting on Wednesday came from the trio of Jang Dae-kyu,
Kim Jun-hong and Song Jong-ho in the men's 25-meter rapid fire pistol. They
scored a combined one-thousand-747 points to take the gold at the Ongnyeon
International Shooting Range in Incheon.
Kim Jun-hong won another gold in men's 25-meter rapid fire pistol individual
event later in the day with a score of 31.
In rowing, Kim Ye-ji won a gold in the women's single sculls event. South Korea
also added two silver medals with Jeon Seo-yeong and Kim Seo-hee in the
women's coxless pair event and Lee Hak-beom in the lightweight men's single
sculls event.
DAPA Approves Basic Plan for KF-X Program
The government has approved a basic plan for an indigenous fighter jet
development project called the KF-X program.
The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) held the 83rd session
of its defense project committee on Wednesday and approved the plan for the
eight-point-five trillion won project.
DAPA will begin accepting bids from manufacturers next month to select a
preferred bidder and sign a contract by the end of this year.
South Korea and Indonesia will work together in production of the KF-X aircraft
under an agreement. Under the KF-X program, the first 20 aircraft will likely be
produced by 2025.
The indigenous fighter jet development project was initiated in 2002, but has
been delayed for 12 years due to controversy over feasibility.
The DAPA committee also approved the negotiation results on the next
generation fighter jet procurement program, dubbed the F-X fighter program.
Under the seven-point-three trillion won procurement program, the nation will
acquire 40 F-35 stealth fighters from the United States.
Market Value of Samsung, Hyundai Motor Hit 3-Year Low
The combined market value of Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor has
decreased to its lowest level in three years.
The Korea Exchange said Wednesday that the combined market value of the
top two conglomerates accounted for 17-point-six percent of South Korea’s
securities market as of Tuesday.
The figure marks the lowest since October 2011 when the market value of the
two firms reached 17-point-28 percent.
Samsung took up 14-point-12 percent, while Hyundai Motor accounted for
three-point-48 percent.
The combined market value of the two firms reached 24-point-12 percent 18
months ago, accounting for a quarter of the total market, but is sharply dropping
as shares of the two companies are suffering losses.
PM Vows Gov't Support for Overseas Korean Businesses
Prime Minister Chung Hong-won has vowed government support through
regulatory reform to Korean entrepreneurs doing business in countries around
the world.
Chung made the pledge in a congratulatory speech on Wednesday at the
opening ceremony of the World Korean Business Convention at the Busan
Exhibition & Convention Center.
The prime minister promised unrelenting government support through bold
regulatory reform to help Korean businesspeople overseas expand investment
and exports.
In the speech, he said the seven million ethnic Koreans who are overseas are a
valuable asset to the country.
Chung also noted that the South Korean economy is going through difficulties
as the global economy has been mired in low growth and high unemployment
for an extended period.
He urged the participants to use the convention as a chance to help boost the
investment in South Korea by overseas Korean businessmen and facilitate
overseas advances made by small and medium-sized Korean companies.
New System to Allow Pregnant Women to Work Shorter Hrs
Female workers in the early or late stages of pregnancy will be allowed to work
shorter hours starting Thursday.
Under the new system, women who are before 12 weeks or after 36 weeks in
their pregnancies will be permitted to reduce their working hours by two hours a
day, without affecting their salary. The system will be applied to businesses
hiring more than 300 employees.
Those who want to have the shortened hours are required to present to their
employers a doctor’s note and a document detailing the work schedule three
days before they use the shortened hours.
Employers who disallow the shortened hours will face a fine of five million won.
The shortened work schedule must be at least six hours per day, even if the
employees work fewer than 8 hours per day normally.
Businesses hiring less than 300 employees will be subject to the new system
from March 25, 2016.
Seoul to Turn Overpass into Elevated Park
Seoul City plans to turn an old overpass near Seoul Station into an elevated
park like the High Line in New York.
Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, who is visiting the U.S., announced the plan on
Tuesday while touring the park in Manhattan.
Park said the overpass in Seoul is not just an urban facility, but a legacy of
industrialization full of historical value and significance.
He said the city will preserve the original state of the old overpass as much as
possible and take into account safety, convenience and landscape in creating
the park.
The High Line is a two-point-five kilometer elevated park in New York that was
transformed from an abandoned stretch of railways into an ecological space
filled with flowers and trees. The park is drawing four million tourists a year.
Seoul City is collecting ideas from citizens for the park with the goal of
completing the project by the end of 2016.
Copyright © 2010 KBS WORLD. All Rights Reserved.