Seoul  - South Korean President Lee Myung Bak and Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso Monday vowed to increase their efforts to stop North Korea's nuclear weapons programme, in close cooperation with the administration of incoming US president Barack Obama.

The two leaders, who met for a bilateral summit in the South Korean capital Seoul, also pledged to work together to overcome the effects of the global recession on Asian exports.

Lee told journalists that he hoped close bilateral cooperation as well as working with the international community would be a major contribution to the recovery of the global economy.

Seoul  - Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso arrived in the South Korean capital of Seoul on Sunday, for a series of talks aimed at tightening economic cooperation between the two East Asian countries and bridging old wartime emnities.

The two leaders are due to meet on Monday and are expected to discuss, amongst other subjects, North Korea's atomic weapons programme, and the global economic crisis.

At an official reception dinner for Aso, South Korean President Lee Myung Bak said that it was important for the two countries to work closely together to survive the current "unprecedented" economic situation.

Seoul  - Cash-strapped South Korean automaker Ssangyong Motor applied for receivership in a Seoul court to avoid bankruptcy Friday, following a decision by its Chinese owner.

The decision to file for receivership was made at a meeting Thursday night by parent company Shanghai Automotive Industry to tackle Ssangyong's liquidity crisis, after the company was denied new bank loans two weeks ago, the sport utility vehicle (SUV) manufacturer said in a statement

Seoul - South Korea's central bank on Friday lowered its key interest rate to 2.5 per cent, the fifth cut in three months, to help kick-start the country's economy.

The Bank of Korea's monetary policy committee lowered the benchmark seven-day repurchase rate by 0.5 per cent, its lowest level on record.

"Domestic economic activity is slackening at a rapid pace," the bank said.

Seoul  - North Koreans are watching South Korean-made film and TV drama DVDs in growing numbers, challenging the iron-fisted media control that has effectively isolated 23 million North Koreans from the outside world.

North Korea observers in Seoul estimate that a trickle of the media influx into the otherwise isolated North Koreans has become a stream, despite harsh penalties for those who violate censorship rules.

Seoul - South Korea's opposition Democratic Party (DP) on Tuesday ended 12 days of sit-ins at Seoul's parliament triggered by policy disagreements.

Party chairman Chung Sye Kyun promised to allow work at the assembly to normalize after parliament Speaker Kum Hyong agreed Sunday to delay votes on controversial legislation.

Kim urged the DP and the ruling conservative Grand National Party (GNP) to negotiate their differences.