SEOUL, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- Global crediting rating agency Standard & Poor's on Friday affirmed the long-term sovereign credit rating of South Korea at AA with a "stable" outlook.
"Although geopolitical tensions have risen of late in the Korean Peninsula, we believe a direct armed conflict is unlikely," the credit appraiser said in a statement.
The statement said geopolitical risks on the peninsula would not escalate over the next two years beyond what it had seen.
Tensions had run high on the Korean Peninsula over the past weeks following the series of war of words between the United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
The tensions de-escalated recently after U.S. President Donald Trump praised top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un for his decision to delay the threatened missile strike on the waters off the U.S. island of Guam in the Pacific.
S&P said it would lower South Korea's credit rating if geopolitical tensions related to the DPRK escalate to a point that affects the country's economic, fiscal or external performance.
