South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Thursday on a technical rebound led by blue-chip gains, making up for bearish runs in the past few sessions, analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) soared 12.02 points, or 0.64 percent, to 1,890.35 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Defensive shares drove up the main index, with state-run electricity provider Korea Electric Power Corp. surging more than 4 percent. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics was up nearly 0.5 percent.

Hyundai Merchant Marine, a local shipping company and the largest shareholder of Hyundai Group's North Korea business arm Hyundai Asan Corp., spiked to the daily limit of 15 percent at the opening bell following news that the two Koreas have agreed to meet next week to resolve the Kaesong complex issue.

The local currency was trading at 1,114.20 won against the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., up 4.5 won from Wednesday's close. (Yonhap News)