WASHINGTON — Former Sen. Tom Daschle, picked by President Obama to lead his health reform efforts, recently filed amended tax returns to report $128,203 in unpaid taxes and $11,964 in interest, according to a Senate document obtained by The Associated Press.

The White House acknowledged yesterday that "some tax issues" had emerged in connection with the nomination, but a spokesman said the president is confident the former Senate Democratic leader will be confirmed as the new health secretary.

Daschle filed amended tax returns for 2005, 2006 and 2007 to reflect additional income for consulting work, the use of a car service and reductions in charitable contribution deductions.

S. KOREA UNFAZED BY NORTH THREAT

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea's vow to abandon all peace agreements with Seoul drew a mild response from South Korea's president, who continued to express optimism that the rivals could hold negotiations soon.

President Lee Myung-bak dismissed the North's claim that his government's tougher policies were pushing the divided peninsula toward armed conflict. Lee's comments came hours after the North vowed to abandon a nonaggression pact and all other peace agreements with South Korea. The communist country also said it would not respect a disputed sea border with the South.

DEFENSE: OFFICER TOOK WRONG GUN

OAKLAND, Calif. — The transit officer who shot and killed an unarmed man may have mistakenly pulled his service pistol instead of a stun gun, his lawyer said yesterday.

Defense attorney Michael Rains made the argument during a bail hearing for 27-year-old Johannes Mehserle. Alameda County Superior Court Judge Morris Jacobson later set bail at $3 million.

Jacobson said he set the high amount in part because he considered Mehserle a flight risk after the former officer fled to Nevada during the initial investigation.

WORKERS PROTEST FOREIGN LABOR

LONDON — Hundreds of British energy workers walked off the job yesterday to protest the use of foreign labor on British job sites, the latest sign of an increasing backlash against foreign workers amid the global recession.

The workers are protesting a decision by Total, the French oil company, to award a $280 million contract to an Italian firm, IREM, for work at a plant in Lincolnshire, England.