Seoul - South Korea and the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have agreed to reach a free trade agreement (FTA) by the end of next year, officials said Wednesday.

Seoul - In an apparent move to appease South Koreans over the lifting of a ban on imports of US beef, President Lee Myung Bak on Monday replaced three ministers in his fledgling cabinet.

Seoul - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was welcomed Thursday at a Seoul airport by Prime Minister Han Seung Soo on his first visit to his homeland since taking the top post at the international body last year.

"I am so happy and moved to visit my homeland and meet you 18 months after I took office in January of last year," Ban told reporters and officials waiting for him at a military airport just south of Seoul.

Ban is on a five-day visit and will meet with Foreign Minister Yu Myung Hwan, Prime Minister Han and President Lee Myung Bak on the situation on the divided Korean peninsula, north-east Asian regional issues as well as co-operation between South Korea and the United Nations.

Seoul  - Rising oil prices have led South Korea to revise downwards its growth predictions for 2008, the Finance Ministry in Seoul said Wednesday.

Seoul - Ten of thousands of South Korean auto workers went on a partial strike Wednesday to protest the government's lifting a ban on importing US beef.

Seoul - Shares plunged more than two per cent Wednesday on the Seoul stock exchange as concerns over climbing oil prices and their impact on the world economy continue to besiege the market.