The Middle East-based news channel Al Jazeera will open a bureau in Seoul in the first half of this year to provide in-depth coverage of current issues on the Korean Peninsula, the station said Monday.

   The Qatar-based network is currently searching for an office and checking the city's broadcasting infrastructure before launching the bureau with a correspondent, a cameraman and a producer, Al Anstey, managing director of Al Jazeera English, said in an interview with Yonhap News Agency.

   The bureau will cover developments on the Korean Peninsula, such as relations between South and North Korea, as well as South Korea's key role in Asia's economy and the IT sector, Anstey said, citing a growing interest in the country among viewers.

   He also expected the bureau to give South Korea a larger share of the channel's total news content and deliver a more accurate perspective on the country to viewers in the Arabic-speaking world.

   Al Jazeera broadcasts from more than 65 bureaus across the world, including Kuala Lumpur, Beijing and Manila in Asia, and is operated by more than 3,000 staff members.

(Yonhap News)