We begin with the ongoing search and rescue efforts off Korea's southwest coast following the sinking of the Sewol-ho ferry almost two weeks ago now.
The number of confirmed deaths currently stands at one hundred-eighty-eight, while one hundred-fourteen others, mostly teenage high school students, remain missing, but presumed dead.
Kim Ji-yeon joins us from our news center.
Ji-yeon, what's the latest?
Hello, Mark. The authorities are now considering using more tools to speed up the search operations.
The government says divers will use compact explosives to take out debris that is blocking passageways within the ferry... but only when the parents of the missing students give their consent.
The explosives will almost certainly speed up operations, but there is the concern that it may damage bodies trapped inside.
Authorities say they are starting to use equipment to cut metals and open doors within the vessel.
The move looks to address criticism that the search operation is taking too long... one of the major complaints made by the families of the missing passengers.
They are also preparing to lift the ferry out of the water and put it upright... after search operations are complete.
But the commissioner general of the West Regional Headquarters of the Korea Coast Guard saysthat this will only happen after they have completed their search operations... since pulling the ferry out and turning it upright may also damage bodies inside the vessel.
Up to now, the divers have completed their search of just over half of the cabins.
It has recovered bodies from around 35 of the cabins as of Sunday, out of the 64 cabins that are under its search plan.
Ji-yeon, I understand the prosecution's special investigative team on the ferry sinking raided the Mokpo Coast Guard Station, tell us more about that.
You're right, Mark. Prosecutors and police investigating the case suspect officers there
neglected their duty to effectively deal with the situation in the early stages of the rescue.
The Mokpo Coast Guard has been accused of wasting precious minutes by asking a student who made the first emergency call from the ferry whether he knew the coordinates of where the vessel was.
This comes as prosecutors raided maritime traffic control centers on Jeju and Jindo Island over the weekend.
They are suspected of neglecting their duties in the early stages of the ferry sinking and giving up their responsibility for an area that they should have been monitoring.
And Ji-yeon,... we hear a memorial for the victims of this disaster was set up in Seoul on Sunday....
That's right. The rain did not stop people from saying their last good-byes.
On Sunday, more than 6-thousand people paid their respects at the memorial altar set up in the Seoul Plaza in front of City Hall.
The altar will remain in place until all of those who died in the disaster are returned to their families in Ansan.
Starting Tuesday, an official memorial will be set up at Hwarang Park in Ansan... the city where most passengers resided before going onboard the ferry.
I'm Kim Ji-yeon and I'll come back with more updates later today.
