PRIME TIME NEWS 22:00 Chief of U.S. armed forces visits Seoul to talk defense cooperation

PRIME TIME NEWS 22:00 The top U.S. military officer says Washington has made progress with Seoul and Tokyo on establishing an integrated air and missile defense umbrella in the Asia-Pacific region. The Korean economy grew 3-point-3 percent last year. The nation′s per capita GNI also grew but it′s largely attributed to the strong local currency. And... search operations resume in the tragic Alpine jet crash. One of the black box recorders has been found. Welcome to Prime Time News on this Wednesday, March 25th. Coming to you live from Seoul... I′m Kang Chery. And I′m Sean Lim. Thank you for joining us. We have the top stories for you this hour. Title: Chief of U.S. armed forces visits Seoul to talk defense cooperation We begin with the latest efforts by the United States to strengthen its trilateral cooperation with South Korea and Japan in the area of missile defense. With the Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff set to arrive in Seoul on Thursday... there′s speculation he′ll want to talk about the possible deployment of controversial U.S. missile defense system to South Korea. Connie Kim reports. Building an integrated air and missile defense system will definitely top the agenda. Embarking on his trip to Korea and Japan on Tuesday, General Martin Dempsey said the U.S. is making progress on an integrated air and missile umbrella defense system with Seoul and Tokyo. Dempsey did not elaborate further, but his trip is seen as a push for missile defense cooperation between Seoul, Washington and Tokyo. But this backdrop is raising questions whether or not the talks will cover the deployment of the terminal high altitude area defense, or the so-called THAAD, to South Korea. Earlier this week, a senior U.S. official indicated that THAAD would be on the agenda when Dempsey meets his counterpart Choi Yoon-hee on Friday. Seoul, however, dismissed such claims, saying it′s not on its official agenda. The American missile defense system is highly controversial. Washington says the deployment of THAAD on Korean soil is crucial for regional peace, while other nations, namely China and Russia, strongly opposes against the idea saying it threatens their national security. Other topics up for discussion are the transfer of wartime operational control from Washington to Seoul, response options against North Korea′s provocations and Seoul-Washington joint military exercises. The talks are expected to continue when U.S. Secretary of State Ashton Carter visits Seoul next month for the first time since taking office. Connie Kim, Arirang News. Title: N. Korea accuses U.S. of fabricating Cheonan case North Korea says... the U.S. has fabricated the story of North Korea sinking a South Korean warship named Cheonan... because it wanted to expand American influence in Northeast Asia. Pyongyang′s military unit issued a statement at the truce village of Panmunjom. Here′s a direct quote: "The incident was orchestrated by the