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(ATTN: RECASTS headline; UPDATES with latest info in last 6 paras) ANDONG, South Korea, March 29 (Yonhap) -- Wildfires reignited in the southeastern part of the country overnight, fire authorities said Saturday, adding firefighting helicopters were dispatched to extinguish them. An official with Gyeongbuk Fire Service Headquarters said reports of smoke in Andong, some 190 kilometers southeast of Seoul in North Gyeongsang Province, had started coming in at around 10 p.m. Friday night. Forestry officials believe the fire reignited around 3 a.m. Saturday. The Korea Expressway Corp. blocked off a section of a nearby highway at 5 a.m. and reopened it just before 9 a.m. With vehicles unable to reach the mountainous areas, 11 helicopters were called in to contain the fire. Officials said fires had also restarted in other parts of the province, including Euiseong, just south of Andong. Regional officials called in nine firefighting helicopters, along with 230 firefighters and

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SEOUL, March 28 (Yonhap) -- Prosecutors have called former President Moon Jae-in in for questioning regarding bribery allegations linked to the hiring of his ex-son-in-law, officials said Friday. The Jeonju District Prosecutors Office in the southwestern city of Jeonju summoned Moon last month as a suspect, as he and his daughter, Da-hye, were accused of allegedly receiving bribes in the form of salary and other payments for Da-hye's ex-husband, surnamed Seo, by Thailand-based budget carrier Thai Eastar Jet. Seo was appointed executive director at the airline in 2018 after the company's founder and former two-term lawmaker, Lee Sang-jik, was appointed head of the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency. Prosecutors suspect that Lee's appointment was made in exchange for hiring Seo at the airline, particularly given Seo's lack of experience in the airline industry at the time. Moon is alleged to have stopped providing financial support to his daughter's family after Seo's employme

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SEOUL, March 29 (Yonhap) -- Tens of thousands of people staged rallies in central Seoul on Saturday, either demanding the ouster or reinstatement of President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached over his short-lived martial law invocation in December. Both sides called on the Constitutional Court for a prompt ruling on Yoon's impeachment trial, as the court has yet to announce its ruling date on the case. An estimated 15,000 protesters gathered near Gyeongbok Palace, holding up picket signs demanding Yoon's "immediate ouster" and chanting "End insurrection and embrace a new world." Police blocked traffic in nearby lanes. "What the Constitutional Court must uphold is the safeguarding of democracy on this land and a ruling for an ouster," Kim Jae-ha, a leader of the civic group behind the rally, said. "There are limits to public sentiment. The Constitutional Court will be kicked out of the public's heart if warnings against it accumulate," he said. The main opposition D

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By Song Sang-ho WASHINGTON, March 28 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday expressed his openness to making deals with countries over "reciprocal" tariffs after they are announced next week, if the United States can "get something" through negotiations. Trump made the remarks as his administration plans to roll out reciprocal tariffs -- meant to match what other countries impose on U.S. exports -- on Wednesday. The country-by-country tariffs will be customized based on trading partners' tariff- and non-tariff barriers and other factors, including exchange rates. "They want to make deals. It's possible if we can get something for the deal. But, you know, we've been taken advantage of for 40 years, maybe more, and it's just not going to happen anymore," he told reporters on Air Force One, according to a White House pool report. "But yeah, I'm certainly open to that if we can do something where we get something for it," he added. Asked if negotiated deals are

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(ATTN: UPDATES with latest info throughout) ANDONG, South Korea, March 29 (Yonhap) -- Wildfires reignited in the southeastern part of the country overnight, fire authorities said Saturday, adding firefighting helicopters were dispatched to extinguish them. An official with Gyeongbuk Fire Service Headquarters said reports of smoke in Andong, some 190 kilometers southeast of Seoul in North Gyeongsang Province, had started coming in at around 10 p.m. Friday night. Forestry officials believe the fire reignited around 3 a.m. Saturday. The Korea Expressway Corp. blocked off a section of a nearby highway at 5 a.m. and reopened it just before 9 a.m. With vehicles unable to reach the mountainous areas, 11 helicopters were called in to contain the fire. Officials said fires had also restarted in other parts of the province, including Euiseong, just south of Andong. Regional officials called in nine firefighting helicopters, along with 230 firefighters and public servants and 50

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(ATTN: UPDATES with latest info in headline, throughout; ADDS photo) ANDONG, South Korea, March 29 (Yonhap) -- Wildfires reignited in the southeastern part of the country overnight Saturday before firefighters brought them back under control, according to firefighting and regional authorities. An official with Gyeongbuk Fire Service Headquarters said reports of smoke in Andong, some 190 kilometers southeast of Seoul in North Gyeongsang Province, had started coming in at around 10 p.m. Friday night. Forestry officials believe the fire reignited around 3 a.m. Saturday. The Korea Expressway Corp. blocked off a section of a nearby highway at 5 a.m. and reopened it just before 9 a.m. With vehicles unable to reach the mountainous areas, 11 helicopters were called in to contain the fire. Officials said fires had also restarted in other parts of the province, including Euiseong, just south of Andong. Regional officials called in firefighting helicopters, along with firef

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SEOUL, March 28 (Yonhap) -- A Seoul court on Friday slapped a 5 million-won (US$3,407) fine on opposition leader Lee Jae-myung for defying for the third time a court order to testify in a trial connected to a development scandal arising from his time as mayor of Seongnam. The Seoul Central District Court issued the fine to the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party after he failed to show up as a witness at Friday's hearing. Earlier this week, the same court imposed a 3 million-won fine on Lee for not appearing at two hearings last Friday and this Monday. The case centers on allegations that a group of private developers reaped massive profits from an apartment development project in Seongnam's Daejang-dong district in 2015, when Lee was the city's mayor, causing losses of 489.5 billion won to the municipal government. By law, a witness who continues to defy a summons without legitimate grounds after being fined can be detained for up to seven days. The cour

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By Song Sang-ho WASHINGTON, March 28 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that he has not discussed Moscow's purchase of weapons from North Korea during his recent phone talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, amid continuing concerns about a deepening military alignment between Pyongyang and Moscow. "Not about specifically that. No," Trump said during a press availability at the White House. In the midst of the protracted war in Ukraine, North Korea has supported Russia through troop deployments and supplies of munitions and ballistic missiles, raising concerns that such military support could further prolong the war with security implications for both Europe and the Indo-Pacific. Asked about what an important issue is regarding the war in Ukraine, Trump said he is making "all issues" important, pointing to a set of issues, including Ukrainian children held in Russia and human losses on the battleground. sshluck@yna.co.kr

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(ATTN: UPDATES with latest info in paras 10-12) ANDONG, South Korea, March 29 (Yonhap) -- Wildfires reignited in the southeastern part of the country overnight, fire authorities said Saturday, adding firefighting helicopters were dispatched to extinguish them. An official with Gyeongbuk Fire Service Headquarters said reports of smoke in Andong, some 190 kilometers southeast of Seoul in North Gyeongsang Province, had started coming in at around 10 p.m. Friday night. Forestry officials believe the fire reignited around 3 a.m. Saturday. The Korea Expressway Corp. blocked off a section of a nearby highway at 5 a.m. and reopened it just before 9 a.m. With vehicles unable to reach the mountainous areas, 11 helicopters were called in to contain the fire. Officials said fires had also restarted in other parts of the province, including Euiseong, just south of Andong. Regional officials called in nine firefighting helicopters, along with 230 firefighters and public servants an

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By Song Sang-ho WASHINGTON, March 28 (Yonhap) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth underscored the need Friday for the United States to work together with South Korea, Japan and other allies "shoulder to shoulder" to establish deterrence needed to prevent war, as he said America seeks to ensure a "free" 21st century. Hegseth made the remarks during a joint press conference with Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro in Manila as the Pentagon chief is on his first multi-nation trip to the Indo-Pacific since taking office in January. "What the Trump administration will do is deliver ... is truly prioritize and shift this region of the world in a way that is unprecedented to match the threats of the future with the recognition that for the 21st century to be a free century, America needs to stand alongside our allies and partners shoulder to shoulder," he said, according to a transcript provided by the Pentagon. "Today, it's the Philippines. Tomorrow, it'

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