[Yonhap Photo]
South Korea's finance chief said Wednesday that the government is keeping close tabs on the local financial market following the latest North Korean provocations, but predicted only a limited impact.
"We are watching the market around-the-clock, but its impact seems to be limited," Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon said in a meeting with economy-related ministers in central Seoul. "We are mapping out plans for various scenarios."
Geopolitical risks over North Korea's missile and nuclear programs heightened on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia. Last month, North Korea fired a second intercontinental ballistic missile in less than a month, further escalating tensions among powers including the United States and China.
But the South Korean stock and foreign exchange markets seemed to be hardly affected last week. The benchmark KOSPI lost 0.23 percent from a week earlier despite Donald Trump's signing of new sanctions on North Korea. The Korean won fell three won against the US dollar over the one-week period.
(Yonhap)
reporter
Lim Chang-won
cwlim34@ajunews.com
