SEOUL, Oct. 17 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks opened higher but took a downward
turn late Friday morning as investors dumped shares on concerns that the recent

(ATTN: RECASTS headline, lead; UPDATES with more info throughout)
SEOUL, Oct. 17 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's currency pared earlier gains against the

SEOUL, Oct. 17 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has supplied
agricultural materials to a fruit farm in the communist state, Pyongyang's

SEOUL, Oct. 17 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean government said Friday that it will
look into past rice subsidy records to ferret out unlawful payments and slap

(ATTN: UPDATES with S. Korean official's comments in paras 4-5, background in last
para; CHANGES slug)
By Hwang Doo-hyong

SEOUL, Oct. 17 (Yonhap) -- The Korea Interbank Offered Rates (KORIBOR) as posted
by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news and information arm of Yonhap News Agency,
at 11:00 a.m.

By Nam Kwang-sik
SEOUL, Oct. 17 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's top refiner SK Energy Co. said Friday
that it has signed a preliminary deal with KBR Inc., a U.S. engineering and

SEOUL, Oct. 17 (Yonhap) -- South Korean home-shopping channel CJ Home Shopping
Corp. said Friday it has set up its second joint venture in China, this time in

SEOUL, Oct. 17 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's currency soared against the U.S. dollar
on Friday as sentiment was eased following overnight gains in U.S. markets,
dealers said.

SEOUL, Oct. 17 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks opened higher Friday as investors
picked up oversold shares following a plunge the day before that was promoted by