South Korea's industrial output rose in April for the first time in four months, fanning hopes of a recovery in an economy that posted its slowest growth for three years in 2012. Production in the mining, manufacturing, gas and electricity industries for April rose 0.8 percent from March, state-run Statistics Korea said Thursday. The April growth figure, which was up 1.7 percent from a year earlier, snapped three months of consecutive contraction in industrial output that began in January.

SEOUL, June 13 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will intensify its efforts to sign more free trade deals in a bid to secure a firmer foothold in emerging markets, the country's top economic policymaker said Thursday. The remarks were made by Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok during a meeting with other policymakers to discuss overall trade-related polices in Seoul. In particular, Hyun noted that Myanmar is the last remaining "treasure house of growth" in this region, emphasizing the importance of economic cooperation with the Southeast Asian country going forward.

By Kim Soo-yeon SEOUL, June 7 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean economy grew slower than earlier forecast in the first quarter as consumer spending was subdued and facility investment remained weak, the central bank said Friday. Korea's gross domestic product (GDP), the broadest measure of economic performance, grew a revised 0.8 percent in the January-March period from three months earlier, down from a previous estimate of 0.9 percent on-quarter expansion, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

SEOUL, June 3 (Yonhap) -- South Korea issued a preliminary warning for a possible power shortage Monday, signaling the start of what is expected to be a long streak of difficulties created by a recent shutdown of nuclear reactors. The warning was issued after the country's power reserve level temporarily dipped to under 4.5 million kilowatts, according to the Korea Power Exchange, the state-run distributor of electricity. A level 2 warning is issued when the power reserve falls below 4 million kilowatts.