ARIRANG NEWS 14:00 Hello and welcome to Arirang News. It′s the first day of October here in Korea. Live from Seoul, I′m Laah Hyun-kyung. The stories making headlines at this hour... With today marking Korea′s 66th Armed Forces Day,… President Park Geun-hye calls on the military to strengthen its defenses against North Korea. Legislators finally begin reviewing and passing dozens of pending bills after a months-long political impasse. The parliament is back in session but controversy still looms. The pro-democracy movement takes over Hong Kong. The size of the demonstration is expected to swell... as today marks China′s National Day holiday. Title: Korea commemorates 66th Armed Forces Day Our top story this afternoon... With today marking the 66th Armed Forces Day here in Korea,... President Park Geun-hye says ′thank you′ to the nation′s soldiers. At a commemoration ceremony this morning... she also called on the military to turn a new page, and become a stronger force. Sohn Jung-in starts us off. South Korea staged a massive ceremony on Wednesday to honor the military on its 66th Armed Forces Day. At the military headquarters in Daejeon, President Park Geun-hye started her speech by describing the current security situation on the Korean peninsula. She said the North had been raising tensions in the region while pursuing the development of its nuclear weapon and missile programs. She then urged Pyongyang to join Seoul′s efforts to build trust and lay the groundwork for the potential unification of the divided Korean peninsula. "North Korea should abandon its nuclear weapons program and become a responsible member of the international society." President Park also said the North′s human rights violations should be addressed,... an issue she placed emphasis on recently at the UN General Assembly. She added that this must start with South Korea′s military,... which should lead as a role model of human rights. She also urged the military to look inward, referring to a series of deaths blamed on bullying, harassment and assaults of junior enlisted soldiers by their seniors in barracks. "We must repair these wrongful practices and become a newer, stronger military." President Park stressed that the love and trust of the people is important for making a strong military, and promised to do her utmost to improve the welfare of soldiers and their service environment. Sohn Jung-in, Arirang News. Title: U.S. says talks underway on plans to deploy THAAD missile defense system to S. Korea Washington says a U.S.-designed missile defense system, known as the THADD system, may be located in South Korea. But that idea conflicts with what Seoul′s military has been saying,... leaving the two allies at odds. Connie Kim reports. A top U.S. defense official has confirmed Washington is mulling over plans to deploy a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD missile defense battery to a location in the South. Spea

• published: 01 Oct 2014
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