S. Korea's industrial production rises in December

SEOUL, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Industrial production in South Korea rose in December, keeping an upward trend for the second consecutive month, a government report showed Wednesday.

Production in all industries gained 0.2 percent in December from the previous month, after growing 1.3 percent in November, according to Statistics Korea.

Output in the mining and manufacturing industries declined 0.5 percent, but services industry production rose 0.2 percent, offsetting the fall in the manufacturing sector.

Retail sales tumbled 4 percent in December from a month earlier, posting the biggest decline in almost seven years.

Facility investment advanced 8.9 percent last month thanks to demand for semiconductor equipment.