White Christmas? Maybe next year

People walk in the rain in a fog-shrouded Gwanghwamun Square on Sunday. / Yonhap

By Chyung Eun-ju, Park Si-soo

Dreaming of a white Christmas? Maybe next year.

Freezing air is expected to hold sway across the country on Christmas morning but there will be no moisture, resulting in a cold and sunny Christmas Day, the state weather agency said on Christmas Eve.

The fine weather will continue throughout the day, with some central regions experiencing cloudy conditions in the afternoon, the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said.

The fine dust level will fall to "normal" from "bad" on Christmas Eve, it said.

Seoul's morning temperature is expected to plunge to as low as minus six degrees Celsius. It will be lower in the mountainous region of Gangwon Province - minus eight degrees in Chuncheon and minus 10 degrees in PyeongChang, the Winter Olympics host city, the KMA said.

The central region is expected to be a little warmer, with Daejeon's morning low hitting minus two degrees.

Busan and other southern areas are expecting temperatures just below zero. The southern resort island of Jeju will start the day at five degrees, making it the only part of the country to have an above-zero temperature, the KMA said.

Meanwhile, it was rainy on Christmas Eve, with sub-zero temperatures. South Chungcheong Province had nearly 10 milliliters of rain while some regions also had thunder. Seoul and surrounding areas had 2.5 milliliters of rain.

Thick fog caused flight delays or cancellations at South Korea's biggest airport, Incheon International.

On Sunday, 34 outbound and nine inbound flights were delayed while five outbound and six inbound flights were canceled, according to the Incheon International Airport Corp. (IIAC). There were 312 delays and 49 cancellations on Saturday and 43 flights were diverted to other Korean airports.