NEWSLINE AT NOON 12:00 S. Korea rules out N. Korea′s preconditions for talks

NEWSLINE AT NOON 12:00 Title: Headlines Coming up on this Tuesday edition of Newsline at Noon,... South Korea makes it clear that it won′t lift economic sanctions or scrap joint military exercises with the U.S. just to bring North Korea back to the negotiating table. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says he will drop key phrases of remorse for Japan′s past wrongdoings from his August statement marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War Two. Plus,... Korea′s consumer sentiment rebounds for the first time in four months in January, but doubts linger over the strength of the economic recovery. These stories and more on Newsline at Noon. It′s noon, Tuesday, January 27th, here in Korea. Thanks for tuning in. Live from Seoul... I′m Eoh Jin-joo. Good to have you with us,.... I′m Mark Broome. Title: S. Korea rules out N. Korea′s preconditions for talks We begin with the slowing momentum for inter-Korean talks. South Korea′s proposal for dialogue with North Korea has gone unanswered for a month now. Pyongyang has since laid out a list of preconditions that must be met before starting talks,... but Seoul says... it′s not willing to consider them. Hwang Sung-hee has the details. South Korea says it has no plans to consider North Korea′s demands for returning to dialogue. Unification Ministry Spokesperson Lim Byeong-cheol said Monday the preconditions laid out by Pyongyang are issues that could be discussed at the negotiating table. "For fundamental improvements in inter-Korean relations, the South Korean government believes it is not appropriate to accept North Korea′s unjustified preconditions before any talks are held." One of the key preconditions laid out by the North is cancelling the upcoming joint military drills between South Korea and the United States. The state-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper on Monday reiterated that inter-Korean relations will meet a dead end if the exercises take place as planned. The paper claimed that the trust between the two Koreas will only be restored after the joint drills are called off. Seoul and Washington say the annual exercises are defensive in nature, but Pyongyang calls it a rehearsal for invasion. Amid the inter-Korean tug-of-war, chief nuclear envoys from South Korea, the U.S. and Japan will meet in Tokyo on Wednesday to discuss issues related to North Korea. South Korea will hold a separate vice-ministers′ meeting with the U.S. in Seoul on Thursday. Amid fears of a possible loss of momentum between the two Koreas, the unification ministry says its month-old offer for dialogue still stands and that it′s waiting for North Korea′s response. Hwang Sung-hee, Arirang News. Title: N. Korea conducts military drills to counter U.S. hostilities North Korea launched a river-crossing attack exercise to counter U.S. hostilities... and protest the latest anti-Pyongyang leaflet campaign by South Korean activists, The state-run Korean Central News Agency said Tuesday