ARIRANG NEWS 18:00 Leaders of Korea, Italy agree to boost economic, cultural ties

ARIRANG NEWS 18:00 Good evening... it′s Saturday the eighteenth of October... you are tuned in to our SIX PM newscast coming to you from Arirang′s News Center in Seoul. It′s very good to have you with us. I′m Mark Broome. Title: Leaders of Korea, Italy agree to boost economic, cultural ties Our top story this evening.... President Park Geun-hye is back in Korea following a four-day trip to Italy. Prior to her departure, the Korean leader buzzed around Rome meeting Italy′s top political leaders. Sealing well over a dozen agreements, Korea and Italy will start working more closely together in the fields of culture, fashion, design and IT. It was a hectic day but the Korean leader also dropped by the Vatican to see Pope Francis. Shin Se-min reports. Wrapping up her stay in Italy, President Park Geun-hye and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi vowed to strengthen their two countries′ economic ties. During their talks on Friday, local time, President Park and Renzi signed a total of 17 agreements covering a wide range of areas, including economy, culture, fashion, and IT. The leaders want to synergize Korea′s strong IT industry with Italy′s global fashion brands so they can target the international market together. Korea′s presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae says a high-level cooperation committee will be set up to ensure the commitments are met. Emphasizing the importance of the Korea-EU Free Trade Agreement,... Park and Renzi said the elevation of relations is timely considering Italy will soon assume a key role in the EU′s rotating presidency. They also stressed the need to expand trade and investment as Italy is only Korea′s 29th largest trading partner. Two-way trade totaled just eight-and-a-half billion U.S. dollars in 2013. Park and Renzi also saw eye-to-eye on the need for North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions in order to ensure peace and stability on the Korean peninsula. President Park also held talks with Pope Francis at the Vatican,.. a meeting that comes just two months after the pope made a historic visit to South Korea. Saying that she′d like for him to one day visit a unified Korea, the president asked for the pope′s prayers for achieving unification and for peace on the Korean peninsula. Shin Se-min, Arirang News. Title: N. Korea criticizes President Park for urging regime to address issues North Korea has blasted President Park Geun-hye after she called on the regime to give up its nuclear weapons and improve its shocking human rights record. A spokesman for North Korea′s agency in charge of inter-Korean relations said President Park′s comments were reckless and showed a two-faced attitude as she openly talks about wanting to re-engage in dialogue while heavily criticizing the North to others. The South Korean leader made the remarks earlier this week at a summit of Asian and European leaders in Milan. There′s growing concern planned high-level political talks between the two Koreas could col