North Korea's latest missile launch is expected to have a limited impact on South Korea's financial market, but authorities vowed to take swift actions, if necessary, to cushion any fallout from the latest provocation, Seoul's top economic policymaker said Wednesday.
Earlier in the day, North Korea fired an apparent long-range missile from an area north of Pyongyang, resuming its provocations after a 75-day lull, according to the South Korean and US militaries.
(Yonhap)
The missile flew some 960 kilometers reaching an apogee of around 4,500 km, it said.
"I expect the North's missile launch not to have a great impact (on the local financial market)," Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon said in a meeting with economy-related ministers in Seoul.
"But the financial authorities will take stern and swift measures in accordance with contingency plans, if there are any unusual signs (in the market)," he said, adding that the local financial market remained stable despite missile launches by the North in the past.
Senior officials from the finance ministry, the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service, and other economy-related ministries discussed ways to review market conditions and discuss contingency measures against possible volatility.
The country's benchmark stock index, the KOSPI, closed almost flat at 2,512.90 points, with the Korean won finishing at 1,076.80 won against the US dollar, up 7.6 won from the previous session's close, marking its highest closing value in 31 months.
The country's top economic policymaker said the financial authorities will firmly deal with the Korean currency's rise against the greenback, but any intervention will come only when market volatilities are too high.
"The currency rate should be decided by the market," Kim stressed. "But we will take action if necessary."
The won's advance risks eroding demand for South Korean exports. Last week, the won rose 1.2 percent against the US dollar. (Yonhap)
