S. Korea presidential hopefuls suspend merger talks

SEOUL (AFP) - South Korea's two left-leaning presidential hopefuls suspended merger talks on Wednesday because of disagreement over the selection of a single candidate to contest the December poll.

"We have stopped the single candidacy negotiations for the time being," Mr Yoo Min-Young, spokesman for independent candidate Ahn Cheol-Soo, told reporters.

The talks between the software mogul and Mr Moon Jae-In from the main opposition Democratic United Party only began a week ago, as they sought to merge their campaigns to challenge conservative front-runner Park Geun-Hye.

But they have made little progress in agreeing a method for choosing which of them should contest the Dec 19 ballot, and Mr Ahn's spokesman accused the Moon camp of lacking sincerity.