South Korean central banker tours Europe

The governor of South Korea's central bank, Lee Kyung-shick, is meeting senior banking officials in Europe amid continuing sharp fluctuations in the value of many east Asian currencies.

Mr Lee dined with the Bank of England governor ,Eddie George, on Wednesday night before going to Paris for talks with representatives of French commercial banks and then on to Germany.

Reports from the South Korean capital, Seoul, say the government is prepared to guarantee the debts of commercial banks in exchange for the extension of debt-repayment deadlines by foreign lenders.

International commercial bankers are meeting again in New York today Thursdayto consider South Korea's debt problem.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service