South Korean shares opened lower Thursday amid growing investor concerns over the escalating tensions between the two Koreas and a resurgence in new coronavirus infection cases in major economies, including the United States.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 15.57 points, or 0.73 percent, to 2,125.48 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

The weak start came one day after North Korea again lashed out at the South, threatening to soon redeploy troops to two locations near the border previously occupied by South Korean businesspeople and tourists.

Pyongyang earlier blew up a jointly built and occupied liaison office in its border town of Kaesong, one of the two locations.

The KOSPI's rough start also follows overnight losses on Wall Street.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 170.37 points, or 0.65 percent, to close at 26,119.61 on Tuesday (US time).

A US report said at least nine states in the US reported new daily highs for new coronavirus cases.

Large caps traded mixed in Seoul.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics lost 0.77 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix slipped 1.27 percent.

Top pharmaceutical firm Samsung BioLogics dropped 0.97 percent, while leading chemical maker LG Chem lost 1.42 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,217.20 won against the US dollar, down 3.30 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)