Seoul  - Shares fell almost 3

Seoul, Apr. 4 : Weather conditions on Saturday have reportedly prevented North Korea from going ahead with the launch of its missile on Saturday.

"We thought the launch was likely today, but weather conditions at the (North Korea) rocket base may not have been favourable," South Korea''s Yonhap news agency quoted a presidential Blue House official as saying.

Seoul - North Korea has begun final preparations for its controversial long-range rocket launch and could fire the weapon as early as Saturday, South Korean media reported on Friday.

"North Korea seems to have almost finished fueling the rocket, so it is highly likely it will launch it," The Korea Times quoted an anonymous government official as saying.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak plans to convene a meeting of the National Security Council, and would send a special envoy to North Korea, the paper said.

Seoul - Shares jumped Thursday

Seoul  - Shares surged 2.3 per cen

Seoul  - South Korean exports fell 21.2 per cent in March from the same month a year ago in their fifth-straight monthly decline as demand for the country's products weakened amid the global recession.

Exports from Asia's fourth-largest economy, which is largely dependent on exports, dropped to 28.3 billion dollars, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said Wednesday.

Imports were down 36 per cent to 23.7 billion dollars, the balance creating a record trade surplus of 4.6 billion dollars.