UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for an immediate ceasefire in and around the El Fasher area in Sudan's North Darfur, his spokesman said.

The UN chief is appalled by the relentless attacks by the Rapid Support Forces on North Darfur's capital, spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement on Friday.

"El Fasher has been under a tightening siege for more than 500 days with hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped in the area," he said.

South Korea's trade watchdog on Thursday recommended the government accept a proposal from Chinese steel companies to raise export prices of their hot-rolled carbon and alloy steel plates over the next five years as part of anti-dumping remedies.

The Korea Trade Commission (KTC) said it has decided to make such a recommendation to the Ministry of Economy and Finance for nine Chinese steel exporters, including Baoshan Iron & Steel Co. and Jiangsu Shagang Steel Co, reports news agency.

The companies have proposed a price undertaking after the KTC reached a preliminary decision in February to impose anti-dumping duties, having determined that the exporters inflicted damage on the Korean steel industry by selling their products here at excessively low prices.