TOKYO, Oct 9, 2008 (AFP) - Japan said Thursday it was ready to raise South Korea's worries about its tumbling currency at an upcoming meeting of the Group of Seven finance chiefs in Washington.

The South Korean won plunged to a 10-year low against the dollar on Wednesday, although it was slightly up in afternoon trade Thursday in Tokyo.

BUSAN, South Korea, Oct 9, 2008 (AFP) - Asian filmmakers who have watched in envy as US superheroes have won billions at the international box office are determined not to let Hollywood have everything its own way.

SEOUL, Oct 9, 2008 (AFP) - South Korea's central bank Thursday cut its key interest rate by a quarter-point, joining central banks worldwide in an attempt to lessen the impact of the financial crisis on the overall economy.

The cut in the benchmark 7-day repurchase agreement rate, by 25 basis points to 5.0 per cent, was the first since November 2004.

SEOUL, Oct 8, 2008 (AFP) - South Korean shares extended their losses in afternoon trading, with the KOSPI index down 5.1 percent at 1,297.61 at 1.49 pm (0449 GMT).

It was the first time the index had fallen below 1,300 since August 2006.

Analysts were hesitant to say how far the index may fall.

SEOUL, Oct 8, 2008 (AFP) - South Korea has told civic groups to stop spreading cross-border propaganda in a gesture of reconciliation towards North Korea, officials said Wednesday.

The request was made Tuesday, the South's unification ministry said, five days after Pyongyang told Seoul to stop the spreading of propaganda leaflets.

SEOUL, Oct 8, 2008 (AFP) - North Korea has test-fired short-range missiles into the Yellow Sea, officials said Wednesday, amid continuing diplomatic efforts to persuade it to abide by a nuclear disarmament deal.

'The latest missile launch was seen as part of routine military exercises,' said a South Korean defence ministry official.

SEOUL, Oct 8, 2008 (AFP) - South Korea, in a gesture of reconciliation to North Korea, has urged defector groups to stop spreading cross-border propaganda but the defectors said Wednesday they would ignore the plea.

The unification ministry said the appeal was made Tuesday, five days after Pyongyang told Seoul to stop the leaflets or risk expulsion from a joint economic zone.

SEOUL, Oct 8, 2008 (AFP) - North Korea is working to develop a nuclear warhead for a long-range missile, South Korea's top military officer said Wednesday, a day after the communist state tested its short-range weaponry.

SEOUL, Oct 8, 2008 (AFP) - South Korean shares opened 3.1 percent lower Wednesday after the US market plunged overnight.

The KOSPI index opened down 42.14 points at 1,323.96.

Large-caps retreated across the board, with heavy machinery and steel stocks losing the most. Doosan Heavy Industries fell more than 5 percent and POSCO was down 4 percent.

SEOUL, Oct 8, 2008 (AFP) - South Korea's leading fixed-line operator KT Corp said Wednesday it has signed a 38-million-dollar deal with the Rwandan government to build network infrastructure.

WASHINGTON, Oct 8, 2008 (AFP) - The US State Department on Wednesday advised North Korea against test-firing short-range weapons, amid reports, which officials in Washington were unable to confirm, that Pyongyang had launched test missiles into the Yellow Sea.

SEOUL, Oct 8, 2008 (AFP) - North Korea has fired short-range missiles into international waters in the Yellow Sea as part of a routine military exercise, a defence ministry official said Wednesday.

The missiles were fired on Tuesday, the official told AFP on condition of anonymity, adding the type and number were unclear.

EVIAN, France, Oct 7, 2008 (AFP) - An aide to South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak voiced support on Tuesday for setting up a Europe-wide fund to shore up banks hard-hit by the global financial crisis.

SEOUL, Oct 7, 2008 (AFP) - South Korean prosecutors said Tuesday they have arrested a florist for pruning his rivals' business by clicking repeatedly on their online advertisements.

The Seoul prosecutors' office said the man surnamed Jeong was charged with breaking laws on promoting communication networks and protecting information.

SEOUL, Oct 7, 2008 (AFP) - South Korea is considering sending a navy ship to waters off Somalia, where its merchant ships have often fallen victim to pirates, the foreign minister said Tuesday.

'We are discussing the issue of sending a navy ship to waters off (Somalia),' Yu Myung-Hwan told parliamentarians during an inspection of his ministry. He did not elaborate.

SEOUL, Oct 7, 2008 (AFP) - South Korea Tuesday played down expectations that North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il, who reportedly suffered a stroke in August, will appear at major anniversaries this week to prove he is well.

SEOUL, Oct 7, 2008 (AFP) - South Korean shares opened 1.3 percent lower Tuesday on continued worries about the state of the world economy, following the global stock market slide Monday.

The KOSPI index opened down 17.83 points at 1,340.92.

The won opened sharply lower. It was down 61.1 won, or almost five percent lower than Monday's close, at 1,330.1 against the dollar.

BUSAN, South Korea, Oct 7, 2008 (AFP) - Chinese film-maker Pan Jianlin struggles to find the right words to describe what he saw at the Muyu Middle School, six days after the earthquake that devastated Sichuan province.

SEOUL, Oct 7, 2008 (AFP) - Both the United States and North Korea are showing flexibility in trying to settle a dispute which threatens a nuclear disarmament agreement, South Korea's foreign minister said Tuesday.

The comments by Yu Myung-Hwan raised hopes that a mission to Pyongyang last week by chief US negotiator Christopher Hill may have been fruitful.

SEOUL, Oct 8, 2008 (AFP) - North Korea has fired two short-range missiles into international waters in the Yellow Sea as part of a routine military drill, South Korea's Yonhap news agency said early Wednesday, quoting a defence source.

SEOUL, Oct 6, 2008 (AFP) - South Korean shares were down 2.7 percent soon after opening Monday as institutions and foreign investors dumped blue chips amid persistent jitters in the US financial market, analysts said.

The KOSPI index tumbled 38.88 points, or 2.74 percent, to 1,380.77 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

SEOUL, Oct 6, 2008 (AFP) - North Korea has given the United States an ultimatum to accept its proposed solution to the latest nuclear row between the two sides, a pro-Pyongyang newspaper said Monday.

SEOUL, Oct 5, 2008 (AFP) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il, rumoured to have suffered a stroke, has sent a signal he has recovered and is back in control with his first reported public outing in 51 days, analysts said Sunday.

BUSAN, South Korea, Oct 5, 2008 (AFP) - Chinese film-maker Pan Jianlin struggles to find the right words to describe what he saw at the Muyu Middle School, six days after the earthquake that devastated Sichuan province.

SEOUL, Oct 5, 2008 (AFP) - South Korea has declared a rising volume of Chinese imported kimchi, or spicy fermented cabbage, to be inedible due to banned or harmful additives found in it, officials said Sunday.

SEOUL, Oct 4, 2008 (AFP) - US negotiator Christopher Hill left here Saturday for Beijing for talks with officials amid efforts to save a shaky deal on ending North Korea's nuclear weapons programme, the US embassy said.

'I can tell you that at 8:53 this morning, Assistant Secretary (of State) Hill departed for Beijing,' embassy spokesman Aaron Tarver told AFP.

BUSAN, South Korea, Oct 4, 2008 (AFP) - It is the first time Anna Karina has made it to South Korea in person, but the actress's image has been deeply ingrained on the local consciousness since the 1960s.

SEOUL, Oct 4, 2008 (AFP) - Multinationals Mars and Nestle have been told to pull three products from South Korean shelves over the China milk scandal which has sickened thousands of babies, the nation's food watchdog said Saturday.

SEOUL, Oct 4, 2008 (AFP) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il has made his first reported public appearance since rumours that he suffered a stroke.

The North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Saturday that Kim, 66, attended a student football match on the 62nd anniversary of Kim Il-Sung University.

SEOUL, Oct 3, 2008 (AFP) - South Korean police said two women were found hanging from lengths of elastic Friday after a South Korean actress killed herself in the same way, raising fears of copycat suicides.

Police said a 55-year-old woman was found dead early Friday in the bathroom of her apartment in Haenam county in South Jeolla province, with an elastic band around her neck.

SEOUL, Oct 3, 2008 (AFP) - US negotiator Christopher Hill was due Friday to wind up a high-stakes mission to North Korea aimed at persuading it not to restart its nuclear weapons programme and to return to a disarmament pact.

The State Department and US embassy said Hill is expected to cross the heavily-fortified border to South Korea Friday but had no information on when.

SEOUL, Oct 3, 2008 (AFP) - US negotiator Christopher Hill returned to South Korea Friday after a high-stakes mission to North Korea aimed at saving a shaky nuclear disarmament pact.

The chief nuclear envoy crossed the heavily fortified border at 3:30 pm (0630 GMT), a US embassy spokesman said.

SEOUL, Oct 3, 2008 (AFP) - US negotiator Christopher Hill said Friday he had 'substantive' talks during his visit to North Korea aimed at saving a shaky nuclear disarmament pact.

Hill gave no other details of what he called lengthy talks in Pyongyang with his counterpart Kim Kye-Gwan and other officials.

SEOUL, Oct 3, 2008 (AFP) - US negotiator Christopher Hill said Friday he had 'very substantive' talks during his visit to North Korea, but gave no further details of his mission to rescue a crumbling nuclear disarmament pact.

SEOUL, Oct 2, 2008 (AFP) - US negotiator Christopher Hill has extended a visit to North Korea aimed at saving a crumbling nuclear disarmament deal, the US embassy in Seoul said Thursday.

Hill had originally been expected to return Thursday afternoon to South Korea, before flying on to China Friday.