Seoul 

Seoul - Shares leaped to their highest level in more than four months Thursday on the Seoul stock exchange following gains on Wall Street.

Seoul - South Korea's President Lee Myung Bak will visit China later this month for talks on North Korea's nuclear programme and ways to strengthen ties between Seoul and Beijing, Lee's office said Tuesday.

Lee is scheduled to visit Beijing and the eastern Chinese coastal city of Qingdao on May 27-30. He plans to hold summit talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao in Beijing on May 27.

"Through his first visit to China, Lee would help enhance the partnership between the two countries and pave the way for further development of bilateral ties," a spokesman for Lee's office said.

The visit would also provide the government with an opportunity to strengthen cooperation for the settlement of the North Korean nuclear issue.

Seoul  -  Park Kyung Ni, one of South Korea's best-known novelists, died Monday at 81, the Culture, Sport and Tourism Ministry said.

Seoul  - The Olympic torch relay continued Sunday in the South Korean capital Seoul accompanied by the shouts of pro-China demonstrators and strict security.