Study English

http://www.voanews.com/korean/2007-09-16-voa4.cfm

South Korean officials say a typhoon has killed at least seven people and left several others missing in the southern part of the country.

Officials say heavy rain and floods killed five people on the resort island of Jeju and at least two others along South Korea's southern coast, where Typhoon Nari made landfall early today (Sunday).

The fast-moving storm also forced South Korean authorities to cancel about 300 domestic and international flights.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency says the typhoon has flooded scores of buildings and roads and cut power to thousands of homes.

Nari was forecast to move northeast across South Korea before entering waters between the Korean peninsula and Japan.

07/22/2007

Taleban militants in Afghanistan say they have extended a deadline for their demands to be met for the release of 23 South Korean hostages.
 

A purported Taleban spokesman, Yousuf Ahmadi, told news agencies that the militants are giving government negotiators until Monday evening (seven p.m. local time - 1430 UTC) to respond to a demand that 23 Taleban rebels be released from Afghan prisons.

Earlier today (Sunday), the Taleban threatened to kill its South Korean hostages if Afghan or foreign troops attempt to free them by force.

The Afghan Defense Ministry said Afghan and U.S.-led coalition troops had surrounded several areas in Ghazni province where the hostages are believed to be held.

A South Korean delegation has arrived in Kabul to assist with negotiations aimed at freeing the hostages.

South Korea and the United States have begun two days of talks in Seoul to review a free trade deal struck earlier this year.

U.S. and South Korean trade negotiators are trying today (Thursday) and Friday to iron out changes the U.S. Congress wants aimed at stricter environmental and labor standards.

The pact was reached in April after 10 months of negotiations. If approved by Congress, it would be Washington's biggest free trade deal since the 1993 North American Free Trade Agreement.

Many South Korean workers and farmers are against the deal, fearing it could cause them to lose their jobs.

The agreement must be signed by President Bush and his South Korean counterpart, Roh Moo-hyun, by the end of June. The deal would then be submitted to U.S. and South Korean lawmakers for ratification.