Seoul, Dec 14 (IANS): South Korea came under the grip of the season's coldest weather on Wednesday, with the morning lows dipping to minus 15 degrees Celsius in some inland areas, the state weather agency said.

The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said the freezing temperatures were accompanied by strong wind, with the wind velocity reaching up to 16 meters per second in some coastal areas, reports Yonhap News Agency.

In Seoul, morning lows plummeted to minus 11 degrees Celsius and an apparent temperature of nearly minus 20 degrees Celsius as of 7 a.m., the KMA said.

The weather agency forecast that some northern parts of Gyeonggi province surrounding Seoul will see the temperature drop to up to morning lows of minus 15 degrees Celsius.

On top of the frigid cold weather, snow fell in most parts of the country overnight.

As of 6 a.m., more than 10 centimeters of snow had fallen in Yongin, just south of Seoul, the KMA said.

The KMA said the freezing temperatures will remain until early next week.