Korean govt. tightens monitoring of economy, financial market

Published : Mar 6, 2017 - 12:48 Updated : Mar 6, 2017 - 12:48

The South Korean government said Monday that it will monitor the local financial market and the economy around the clock in order to reduce any possible fallout from North Korea's latest missile launch.

The unidentified projectiles were launched from an area near the North's Dongchang-ri long-range missile site at 7:36 a.m. and flew about 1,000 kilometers before splashing into the East Sea, according to the military.

North Korea's latest missile launch (Yonhap)

Economy and finance-related government agencies, including the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, the Financial Services Commission and the Bank of Korea held an emergency meeting to discuss ways to deal with the potential impact of the North Korean provocation.

"The government will seek closer cooperation with related agencies and strengthen around-the-clock monitoring of the market," the government said in a statement. "We will take immediate action in accordance with our established contingency plan."

It said there was no direct impact on the stock and foreign exchange markets following news reports about the missile launch.

The benchmark KOSPI was hovering at 2,076.01 points at 11:15 a.m., down 2.74 points from the previous close, while the Korean won gained ground at 1,154.6 won against the US dollar. (Yonhap)