First Vice Minister Jang Young-jin, second from right, of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy visits POSCO's steel production plant in Pohang on Dec. 9. Courtesy of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Korean steelmaker POSCO said Sunday it has resumed operations at a key steel plant after a three-month-long suspension due to a typhoon.

On Thursday, POSCO restarted the No. 2 hot-rolled steel production plant in Pohang, 374 kilometers southeast of Seoul, bringing the number of normalized plants to 13 out of 18 plants following the natural disaster, the company said in a statement.

The No. 2 hot-rolled steel plant processes 5 million tons, or 33 percent, of 14.8 million tons of steel products churned out at POSCO's integrated steel mill.

Hot-rolled steel is used in manufacturing high-end cold-rolled, stainless and electrical steel products.

POSCO plans to bring the remaining five plants, including the No. 1 and No. 2 cold-rolled stainless steel mills and the No. 1 electrical steel mill, back to normal by the end of January, it said.

To minimize the impact of the typhoon on its business, POSCO has increased production in its steel mill in Gwangyang, 423 km southwest of Seoul, and imported steel products from overseas. (Yonhap)