SEOUL — The South Korean government is warning consumers, wholesalers and retailers against hoarding cigarettes ahead of an expected price hike in the coming weeks. Tobacco producers, wholesalers and retailers all are subject to government fines. The government also warned consumers not to hoard cigarettes, although they face no fines for doing so.

Violators could face up to 50 million won (around $45,000) in fines and a two-year prison term, the Ministry of Finance and Economy said Wednesday.

Prices for cigarettes in South Korea, which run roughly $2 to $4 per pack, could rise by almost a dollar in the coming weeks because of new taxes.

S. Korean Air Force mulls U.S. request on Iraq

SEOUL – The U.S. military has asked the Republic of Korea Air Force to consider transport missions from its temporary base in Kuwait to “nondangerous areas” of Iraq, officials said Wednesday.

According to news reports, the ROK Air Force’s 58th Air Mobility Wing has been operating from Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait, supplying South Korean ground troops in northern Iraq. Ministry of National Defense officials were quoted as telling South Korean media outlets that, if South Korea agrees to fly transport missions to other areas, it would avoid Baghdad and other centers of the insurgency.

Earlier this year, South Korea deployed 3,000 combat troops, making it the third largest contributor of soldiers in Iraq, behind the United States and the United Kingdom.