Apple's popular iPhone is to make its South Korea debut next week after earning approval from the nation's telecommunications director, local media reported on Wednesday.

KT Corp, the No. 2 carrier in the country, plans to start taking Internet orders for the iPhone on Thursday and begin sales on Nov. 28, the Korean Daily News said.

SK Telecom, South Korea's top mobile service operator, is said to be in talks with Apple about selling the blockbuster phone to their customers.

The Korea Communications Commission approved the launch of iPhone at a meeting of its commissioners and the phone can be launched anytime, said spokesman Lee Sang-hun.

However, South Korea is not in the list of the coming soon section in Apple's official Website, which lists countries where the iPhone is now or will be available soon.

As iPhone made its formal debut in China on October 30 through China Unicom, South Korea would be one of the last major countries in Asia to get the iPhone which is also on sale in Japan, India and Australia.

With two of the world's largest cell phone manufacturers, Samsung and LG, South Korea used to require the mobile phones sold in the country to use a home-grown platform. Foreign handset makers, such as Motorola, Nokia and Sony Ericsson, have faced stiff competition from Samsung and LG and had to avoid the market largely due to re-engineering difficulties.

However, the country lifted the rule in April, welcoming more foreign models to its 47 million mobile phone users.

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