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SEOUL : South Korea's ports threatened to grind to a halt on Sunday as thousands of truck drivers extended their damaging strike action over soaring fuel prices, officials said.
Port operators were handling just 20 percent of the average volume of cargo, the ministry of land, transport and maritime affairs said, as 13,000 truckers entered day three of their stoppage.
Some freight yards at the country's biggest port of Busan were already overloaded with stalled shipping containers, as trucks stood idle in protest against rising oil costs, the ministry said.
"If things get worse, we may have to redirect cargo ships to different ports," an official with the Busan port authorities told AFP.
Unionised truckers went on strike on Friday, demanding steps to cut energy costs or raise transport fees after the diesel price rose more than 30 percent since the beginning of the year.
South Korean steel mills and electronics firms have been forced to delay shipments as the strike has gripped 10 major ports and two inland cargo terminals.
Authorities were mobilising military truck drivers and moving cargo onto trains to try to lessen the strike's impact, while police were forced to escort non-striking truck drivers to work on safety grounds.
After a meeting on Sunday, the government and the ruling party warned any drivers who obstructed movement of cargo from ports would be "sternly" dealt with.
The government has also encouraged talks between the union and cargo owners.
The truckers' union has threatened to seal off Busan, through which three-quarters of South Korea's shipping containers pass, to press for their demands.
Striking truckers have set up tents near the entrances to the Busan port, staging street protests. - AFP/de
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