A Posco factory in the southeastern city of Pohang has suffered its second fire in two weeks, officials said Monday, with no casualties reported.

The fire started at the steel company's patented No. 3 Finex furnace of the plant, located about 270 kilometers southeast of Seoul, at 11:18 p.m. Sunday.

Firefighters dispatched 21 fire trucks and some 50 personnel to the scene before extinguishing the fire at 1:13 a.m. Monday.

The police and fire agency plan to look into the exact cause of the fire and the extent of the damage.

Two weeks earlier, a fire broke out at the same Finex furnace, injuring one worker and halting production. The company resumed normal operations at the furnace last Tuesday.

"The fire at the No. 3 Finex furnace won't affect the Pohang plant's daily output capacity of 30,000 to 40,000 tons as the No. 2 Finex furnace and three blast furnaces (in Pohang) will help offset the production losses in the affected Finex furnace," a company spokesperson said over the phone.

Posco aims to resume the No. 3 Finex furnace's operations within this year, he added.

In addition to its Pohang furnaces, the company operates five blast furnaces at another domestic integrated steel mill in Gwangyang, about 290 km south of Seoul. (Yonhap)