Daily Kor for November 16, 2009: Trouble on the high seas

Happy Monday, everybody out there who is not in Oahu, where it is Sunday and sunny with a chance of fish tacos. APEC is, unsurprisingly, still in the news, but Lee has already headed back to South Korea where he will no doubt prepare for his summit with US President Obama in a few days.

The fire in Pusan continues to make news, with several government ministers, including the PM, giving expressions of condolences. Tragic events such as this sometimes become catalysts for better enforcement, so if it turns out fire codes were violated, expect something to change, at least for a while.

Meanwhile, Kim Yuna has wowed the skating world yet again, and she is quickly moving from being a Korean celebrity to a global star.

One ominous bit of news comes in story #4, giving an indication of what North Korea might try to pull next in its efforts to turn the disputed maritime border into a high-profile source of conflict.

[above: President Lee was ineligible to pick up the Most Likely To Be Re-Elected award and had no hope of wining Farthest Traveled, but he did manage a Best Knock-Knock Joke Teller honorable mention.]

1. APEC to maintain economic stimulus policies (Joongang Daily, Yonhap)
2. Yuna Kim sets global scoring record at Skate America competition in Lake Placid, New York (links here); Lee Jungsu beats "dead tired" Apolo Ohno in short track World Cup in Marquette, Michigan (USA Today)
3. At least four crew of South Korean fishing boat are killed after collision with Hong Kong freighter in waters between South Korea and Japan (links here)
4. North Korea briefly activates radar for surface-to-ship missiles, forcing South Korean naval vessels to move away from disputed maritime border in the Yellow Sea (AP via WaPo)
5. French envoy Jack Lang speaks on French radio and television about talks with North Korean leaders he described as frank and in-depth (AP via WaPo)
6. Authorities investigate fire that killed Japanese tourists in Pusan (AP via WaPo, Bloomberg); Prime Minister expresses condolences over deaths (Yonhap)
7. Seoul provides Tamiflu to South Korean workers at Kaesŏng inter-Korean industrial park (Yonhap, Korea Herald)
8. Former US Ambassador to South Korea James Lilley passes away (Korea Times)
9. Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) begins voting today on general strike set for mid-December (Korea Herald)
10. In a move that will almost certainly be declared unconstitutional, US President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama agree to trade countries for one day (AP)