Seoul - The fate of two US journalists detained by North Korea was still unclear on Friday, a US envoy said.

"We are still trying to get a sense of exactly what the situation is and what happened," said US Ambassador Kathleen Stephens after a meeting with diplomats in Seoul.

The US government and US diplomats were trying to secure the release of the two women, "who do seem to be held in some way," Stephens said. "So we will hope for the best."

Seoul - North Korea on Friday again stopped border traffic, denying South Koreans access to the Kaesong industrial complex, sparking fears over the future of the joint project.

South Koreans were denied access even after a joint US-South Korean military exercise ended, the Defence Ministry in Seoul said. Pyongyang had originally cut border traffic during the annual military exercise which ended earlier on Friday.

Amman - South Korean Prime Minister Han Seung-soo on Thursday conducted separate talks with Jordan's King Abdullah II and Prime Minister Nader Dahabi on latest political developments in the region and means of boosting bilateral ties particularly in the business sphere, an official statement said.

"There is an opportunity for developing a long-term strategic relationship between Jordan and Korea," a royal court statement quoted the monarch as telling the visiting South Korean premier.

Seoul - Shares

Seoul - South Korea warned North Korea Friday that it risked "countermeasures" from the United Nations if it goes ahead with a planned rocket launch.

Foreign Minister Yu Myung Hwan said in Seoul that it did not matter whether the launch was of satellite, as North Korea has claimed, or an intercontinental ballistic missile, as its neighbours and the United States fear, because either way the matter would be taken before the UN Security Council.

Seoul  - In a country like South Korea, a craze for coffee is not the only explanation for the unusual success that Starbucks Corporation is now enjoying there.

The success of Starbucks in South Korea can also be put down to the free internet access in its many outlets. People are now flocking to the chain stores not only to drink coffee, but to study and chat as well.