U.S. tech giant Apple Inc. said Tuesday it will release the latest editions of its iPhone lineup in South Korea on Oct. 31, starting a full-fledged battle with Samsung Electronics Co. in the wide-screen smartphone market here.

According to Apple, the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus will hit the shelves in 36 additional countries by the end of this month, starting with China on Friday.  It will reach South Korea on Oct. 31 along with Greece, Mexico, Thailand and 19 more countries.

Local carriers said they will receive preorders from Oct. 24.

"(The products) are on track to be available in more than 115 countries by the end of the year, making this the fastest iPhone rollout ever," Apple said in its online release.

The National Radio Research Agency said Monday that Apple has completed its procedures to receive authentications for the two products.

It will mark the first time for Apple smartphones to be sold by all of South Korea's three mobile carriers: SK Telecom Co., KT Corp. and LG Uplus Inc.    

The 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus, the first large-sized smartphones by Apple, were seen by industry watchers here as new challenges for Samsung, the world's No. 1 maker of handsets, that will compete with the South Korean player's phablet lineup. (Yonhap)