Seoul - Hyundai is launching its new Genesis Coupe on the South Korean and U. S. markets based on the sedan with a range-topping 223 kW/303 hp V6 engine and other sport credentials.

Seoul  - North Korea's military on Tuesday threatened the destruction of its southern neighbour, accusing South Korea of planning a military strike against the Pyongyang regime, a news report said.

At the slightest sign of an attempt by Seoul to preemptively strike the communist state, North Korea would attack with "means more powerful than a nuclear strike," the South Korean Yonhap news agency said, quoting a report in its northern counterpart, the Korean Central News Agency.

"The puppet authorities had better bear in mind that the advanced preemptive strike of our own style will reduce everything ... to debris, not just setting them on fire," a spokesman of North Korea's army was quoted as saying.

Seoul  - Shares jumped more than 5 per cent Tuesday on the Seoul stock exchange on bargain hunting after recent huge losses. South Korea's currency lost further ground against the dollar.

Seoul - South Korea's central bank on Monday announced its largest-ever rate cut, sinking its key rate by 0.75 percentage points to 4.25 per cent, as it seeks to stave off more dire repercussions from the global financial crisis.

The Bank of Korea said "a large cut in the base rate is called for in order to guard securely against the possibility of a sharp contraction of real economic activity against the backdrop of the large swings of the exchange rate and stock prices and the partial seizing-up of the credit markets."

Seoul - Shares on the Seoul stock exchange bucked slides on other Asian markets Monday, edging up after a larger-than-expected interest-rate cut by South Korea's central bank.

The local currency, however, continued to fall against the dollar.

The benchmark Kospi index rose 7.7 points, or 0.8 per cent, to close at 946.45 while the main index of the technology-heavy Kosdaq market declined 18.5 points to 261.19.