South Korean stocks started 1.19 percent lower on Thursday as Japan's nuclear power plant problem rekindled investor jitters, analysts said.

   The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) plunged 23.27 points to trade at 1,934.7 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

   The deteriorating situation in Fukushima's crippled nuclear power plant, hit by last week's massive earthquake and tsunami, sparked an overnight plunge on Wall Street.

   The Dow Jones industrial average skidded 2 percent as global nuclear experts issued dire accounts on the status of Japan's troubled reactors.

   The local currency was trading at 1,138.55 won to the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., down 7.75 won from Wednesday's close.
(Yonhap News)