South Korea population falls for first time; poor regions facing a crisis of extinction

A young couple wearing masks walk in a shopping district amid the coronavirus disease pandemic in Seoul, South Korea, on Monday (Jan 4, 2021). - Reuters

SEOUL, Jan 4 (AFP): South Korea's population fell for the first time in 2020, with more people dying than were born, the government said on Monday, warning that towns in poor regions faced a "crisis of extinction".

The world's 12th-largest economy has one of its longest life expectancies and one of its lowest birthrates, a combination that presents a looming demographic disaster.