Seoul  - South Korea is offering its communist neighbour economic aid if North Korea resumes talks, a senior government official said Wednesday.

But if Pyongyang refuses to change its current position, then Seoul would not budge either, Unification Minister Kim Ha Joong said in a report to President Lee Myung Bak, outlining the tasks and goals for 2009.

New Delhi, Dec 29 : South Korean car maker Hyundai Motor launched ''i 20'' here today. This car is said to be an improved version of ''i 10'' with more space and more powerful engine.

The launch that has taken place at the time of global financial meltdown raised many questions about the success of ''i 20'' in the Indian markets. But the senior vice president of Hyundai motors said that, they were positive about the launch, as what matters ultimately is the quality of the product.

The shipping fraternity in India condemns the sentence and fine imposed on two Indian seamen in South Korea and threatened to start agitation. Two offices, Captain Jasprit Chawla and Chief Officer Syam Chetan of Hebei Spirit are accused of oil spill in the Korean waters.

Seoul - A South Korean activist Friday admitted to espionage activities uncovered by Pyongyang, but rejected accusations of a plot to murder North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, a news report said.

Choi Sung-yong, head of the Family Assembly Abducted to North Korea, a South Korean NGO, said a North Korean man arrested by the North's State Security Agency on Thursday had been hired by him to gather information on the Communist state the Yonhap news agency reported.

Seoul  - South Korea's 621-troop deployment to Iraq is completing its withdrawal after four years assisting the US war effort, the military said Wednesday.

The troops engaged in reconstruction work are to be received upon returning home Friday by Defence Minister Lee Sang Hee and attend a ceremony hosted by Prime Minister Han Seung Soo after getting a medical checkup, officials said.

"The ceremony will mark the official disbandment of the Iraqi mission that was launched in September 2004," Defence Ministry spokesman Won Tae Jae said.

The contingent consists of the Zaytun Unit, currently stationed in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil, and its Kuwait-based air support unit.

Seoul  - South Koreans married to members of the country's 1-million-strong foreign population generally said they are happily wed, a survey conducted by a non-governmental organization showed.

South Koreans are more happily married than their foreign spouses, the Seoul Women Family Foundation found in their survey of 842 foreigners married to Koreans and
177 South Koreans married to foreigners.

According to the survey, 59.3 per cent of the South Koreans interviewed said were satisfied with their marriage while 40.3 per cent of the foreigners said so.

Foreign spouses from the Philippines showed the highest satisfaction at 49.5 per cent while Cambodians ranked the lowest at 29.2 per cent.