Quotations of the day

Now that the long-term North Korean convicts who refused to renounce communism have been freed and sent to the North, the South Korean prisoners of war and abductees now held in North Korea should be repatriated in their own right, and not as part of the family reunions. (Myongji University professor Shin Yul, during a public hearing on Friday in the annex of the National Assembly.)

We will accept these gifts with pleasure because they were given by the family of Hyundai chairman Chung Ju-Yung, who is working hard for the cause of unification. (Coaches in a North Korean sports delegation to the Sydney Olympics Friday upon receiving archery equipment manufactured in South Korea and donated by Hyundai Motor chairman Chung Mong-Koo.)

I did my very best, but was down on my luck at the decisive moment. (Boo Soon-Hee, a Korean sharpshooter in the women's sport pistol division, upon failing to qualify for the finals in the Sydney Olympic Games. Boo has been one of the favored candidates for a medal since the Barcelona Olympics in 1992)

It¡¯s too early for congratulations. We've only won the first round. (Joo Won-Hong, manager of the Korean tennis team, upon being congratulated on the victory of the men's pair of Lee Hyung-Taik and Yoon Yong-Il in the first match. Lee once advanced into the ranks of the 16 best players at a U.S. open competition.)