Under the measures unveiled after Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon presided over a meeting of a special policy committee on fine dust, grade 5 emission vehicles, mostly diesel cars built before 2005, will be barred from roads in the capital area from March next year.

The government's decision to strongly regulate the emissions of dust particles also came as South Korea suffered high levels of harmful fine dust for the second consecutive day on Friday, due mainly to influx of yellow dust particles from abroad.

If ultrafine dust pollution reaches "warning" and "severe" levels, all vehicles owned by civil servants and employees of public institutions will be banned from the roads in Seoul and other major cities. The government's fine dust crisis management manual calls for different sets of countermeasures in accordance with four crisis levels -- concern, caution, warning and severe.

The government will also reduce the operations of coal-fired power stations as much as possible this winter, as long as a stable electricity supply is guaranteed.

In addition, the government will reinforce its subsidy program for the accelerated retirement of dilapidated diesel vehicles and overhaul acquisition and ownership tax systems for their owners.

The planned shutdown of six old coal-fired power stations will be advanced by one year to 2021, while air purifying facilities will be installed at all subway stations nationwide by 2022.

If all government countermeasures are implemented as planned, the nation's annual average ultrafine dust level will fall by more than 35 percent by 2024 from the 2016 level.

The Seoul government will also strengthen cooperation with China in reducing regional fine dust pollution.

Lee said cooperation with the Chinese government has been proceeding steadily. "Both countries have confirmed their will to enhance bilateral cooperation over fine dust through high-level talks and joint researches and projects will continue," Lee said at the committee meeting.

South Korea has been struggling to deal with fine dust particles both from home and blowing in from China, as well as yellow dust from Mongolia during the winter and spring seasons.

Meanwhile, the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) and other government agencies said fine dust concentrations remained at high levels across much of the country Friday, except parts of western coastal areas.

Jeju's provincial government issued an advisory for PM 10, or fine dust particles smaller than 10 micrometers in diameter, at 7 a.m., with the southern resort island's PM 10 figure surging to 175 micrograms per cubic meter at that time. Jeju's air quality will return to normal Saturday, according to the National Institute of Environmental Research's Air Quality Forecasting Center.

In the capital areas comprising Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province, a PM 10 advisory issued Thursday night remained in effect until late Friday morning.

In Seoul, the municipal government issued a fine dust advisory at 8 p.m. Thursday after its PM 10 reading rose to 170 micrograms per cubic meter from 158 micrograms at 7 p.m. A fine dust advisory is issued when the PM 10 figure stays above 150 micrograms for longer than two hours. The local authorities classify PM 10 levels between 81 and 150 micrograms as bad. (Yonhap)