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Chairman of North Korea’s Supreme People’s Assembly Choe Thae-bok arrived in Beijing Tuesday at the invitation of China’s National People’s Congress Standing Committee Chairman Wu Bangguo, China’s second most powerful leader.
Choe’s five-day trip to China, described as an ordinary party-to-party diplomatic exchange, is the first such visit by North Korea’s high-level official since the North unveiled a new uranium enrichment facility and conducted an artillery attack on South Korea. Attentions focus on whether Choe meets with Chinese supreme leader Hu Jintao or Wen Jiabao.
Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo, who made a lightening visit to South Korea and met with President Lee Myung-bak, reportedly visit North Korea as early as Wednesday, Japanese Kyodo News Agency said Tuesday, quoting diplomatic sources in Beijing.
　　
iPad debuts in S. Korea　
An intense battle has finally begun to dominate the lucrative touch screen tablet PC market in South Korea, as Apple’s popular iPad hit stores Tuesday a half month later than Galaxy Tab, Samsung Electronics unveiled on Nov. 13.
KT Corp., the exclusive carrier of the iPhone in Korea, said some 50,000 units of the iPad have been sold by subscription, while its worldwide sale amounts to 4 million. So far, Samsung has reportedly sold more than 100 thousand units of Galaxy Tab in Korea and some 700 thousand worldwide.

S.Korea’s trade surplus narrows
South Korea’s trade surplus narrowed sharply in November from a month earlier even though it remained in the black for the 10th straight month, a report by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy showed Wednesday.
The country’s trade surplus came to $3.61 billion in November, with 24.6 percent increased exports and 31.2 percent increased imports from a year earlier, the report said. It is nearly half the record high of $6.91 billion in October.
　　
S. Korean family meal emits 4.8kg of carbon dioxide　　
A normal meal for a South Korean family of four creates 4.8kg of carbon dioxide in the course from production of the ingredients to distribution, cooking, and reaching the dining table, a report by the Environment Ministry said Tuesday.
The emitted amount is equivalent to what a pine tree takes in a year, the report added.
　
Universities spend more than 10 million Won per student
Four-year universities spent an average 10.56 million Won ($9,100) per year on educating a student in 2009, data provided by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology showed Wednesday.
The ministry derived the amounts by dividing the sum of the college’s income, including tuition and donations, by total enrollment, which were based on account books from 172 universities nationwide.
According to the data, last year’s spending per student was 7.3 percent higher than the previous year. Public universities spent 12.54 million Won more than private schools (9.97 million Won) and universities in the Seoul metropolitan area spent 12.22 million Won per student more than regional universities (9.26 million Won).
　　　
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