Welcome to Arirang News. This is Key Kim. We start with the top headlines at this hour. 1. As confirmed by both the Kremlin and North Korea on Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin will travel to North Korea on Tuesday for a two-day visit, before heading to Vietnam later in the week. This is his first visit to Pyongyang in 24 years since July 2000, when then-North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and the Russian leader announced a joint declaration on friendly cooperation. It will be Putin''s third summit with leader Kim Jong-un, following their second meeting last September. According to the Kremlin, Putin will arrive in Pyongyang on Tuesday evening and hold meetings on Wednesday. A Kremlin aide said the two leaders will sign several important agreements, which may include a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty, outlining future cooperation and deal with security issues. They also plan to discuss issues, including the economy, energy, transportation, and agriculture. Ahead of his visit, Putin said in a letter published in North Korea''s Rodong Sinmun on Tuesday, that he intends to elevate relations with North Korea to a higher level. 2. outh Korea and China are scheduled to hold high-level talks between their foreign and defense officials on Tuesday,. . . the same day that Russian President Vladimir Putin will likely visit Pyongyang. South Korea''s foreign ministry announced Monday that the 2+2 meeting, set to take place in Seoul, will be led by Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun and his Chinese counterpart Sun Weidong. Defense officials at the director-general level from the two countries will also be joining the meeting. During Tuesday''s meeting, the two sides will likely discuss the recent situation on the Korean Peninsula -- including the North''s trash balloons, and the South''s decision to suspend the inter-Korean military agreement. South Korea is expected to once again ask China to play a constructive role in resolving North Korea issues,. . . and highlight the importance of communication between Seoul and Beijing to maintain peace in the region.   3. The Korean Medical Association which declared a nationwide strike of community doctors on Tuesday is to hold a doctors'' rally at 2 in Yeouido, Seoul. Organized by the country''s biggest doctors'' group, around 20-thousand participants are expected to join in the nationwide strike of community doctors. Concerns over medical disruptions in the country are growing as the country''s Big Five major hospitals are On Monday, medical professors at Seoul National University Hospital and of its affiliate hospitals began an indefinite walkout. Medical professors at three hospitals affiliated with Yonsei University, including Severance Hospital also plan to join from June 27.   4. South Korea saw its world competitiveness ranking soar to a record high in a ranking released by the Swiss-based International Institute for Management Development. According to the finance ministry on Tuesday,. . . South Korea ranked 20th out of the 67 countries that were assessed in the 2024 IMD World Competitiveness Ranking,. . . its highest ranking ever. And it''s also up eight levels compared to last year''s ranking when it fell by one place to 28th. The ranking --- which is published in June each year by the IMD --- assesses a country''s ability to create a conducive business environment by ranking them across four key areas which include economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency, and infrastructure,. . . as well as 20 subcategories. The rise in its global competitiveness ranking this year was mostly driven by its business efficiency and infrastructure ranking. In this year''s ranking,. . . South Korea''s business efficiency ranking jumped 10 places to 23rd,. . . thanks to improvements seen in various areas such as productivity, labor market, finance, and business management practices.   5. The S&P 500 hit yet another all-time high Monday, marking the 30th time the index reached a fresh high this year. The S&P 500 rose 41-point-6-3 points, or zero-point-seven-seven percent on Monday,. . . to close the trading at five-thousand-473-point-2-3. The day''s gains were largely driven by megacaps like Tesla and Apple, despite Nvidia edging lower. The index has been fueled all year by tech stocks, as investment firm Evercore ISI revised its year-end price target to 6-thousand, while Goldman Sachs upped its target to 56-hundred.   Moving to weather forecast, Scorching heat continues. In fact, it will be hotter in most places with heat advisories in place for parts of Gyeongsang-do and surrounding areas. Miryang in Gyeongsangnam-do Province could see a high of 36 degrees this afternoon. Sunny skies will beam down on us nationwide, UV ray will be quite high throughout the day. Seoul and even Busan see a high of 32 degrees, Daegu and Gwangju at 34 degrees. After the mercury hits its peak tomorrow at 35 degrees in Seoul, numbers will try to go back to the norms. Meanwhile, Jeju will see rain from tomorrow into Friday. 59:30’ The current temperatures are: _______ degrees in Seoul _______ degrees in Pyeongchang _______ degrees in Busan And _______ degrees on Jejudo Island 59:39’ You’re listening to Arirang Radio 59:42’