S&P Delegation to Come to Seoul Wednesday

A delegation from Standard & Poor's will come to Seoul Wednesday for its annual meeting with the South

Korean government on the country's sovereign rating, government officials said Tuesday.

During their stay here through Friday, the U.S. ratings agency delegation will assess South Korea's macroeconomic situation, fiscal stability and the North Korean nuclear problem, according to the Finance Ministry officials.

The delegation will meet with officials from the Finance Ministry, the Bank of Korea, the Defense Ministry, the Foreign Ministry and the U.S. Embassy.

Standard & Poor's raised South Korea's sovereign rating from "A minus" to "A", its sixth-highest investment grade, in July 2005.

In July this year, another U.S. credit appraiser, Moody's, boosted the country's sovereign rating a notch to "A2," its sixth-highest investment grade, citing reduced North Korean nuclear risks. Fitch Ratings gives South Korea "A plus," its fifth-highest investment grade.