North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has inspected work on a "world class" ski resort being built as rival South Korea prepares to host the 2018 Winter Olympic Games, state media reported. Kim visited the construction site on Masik hill in the northeast of the country on Monday, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The resort, which could be operational by the end of the year, will boast 110 kilometres (70 miles) of multi-level ski runs, a hotel, heliport and cable cars, KCNA said.

Former Asian title-holders Pohang Steelers dealt Sanfrecce Hiroshima's AFC Champions League bid a crippling blow Tuesday when they beat the Japanese team 1-0 away to leave them on zero points after three games. Bae Chun-Suk's strike on 17 minutes condemned the J-League champions to stay rooted at the foot of Group G, needing a dramatic change in fortunes in their last three pool games if they are to reach next month's knock-out round of 16.

SEJONG, April 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's antitrust watchdog said Monday that it has placed a total of 62 business groups on its watch list, restricting their affiliates from making mutual business investment and loan guarantees. The number is down from the previous year's 63. It is the first time the number has fallen since the related regulation was introduced in 2009, according to a report by the Fair Trade Commission (FTC).

POHANG, South Korea, March 22 (Yonhap) -- A furnace at POSCO's steel mill in southeastern South Korea caught fire after an apparent explosion on Friday and firefighters were trying to extinguish it, fire officials said. There were no immediate reports of injuries in the fire that broke out around 8:10 p.m. at the Finex furnace at the mill in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, about 370 kilometers southeast of Seoul, they said. A local police officer said an explosion at the furance appeared to have caused the fire.