STARNEWS will feed a daily selection of pictures of the K-pop scene into ImageForum, the AFP photo database, under terms of an agreement signed between the two companies in Seoul.

AFP's regional director for the Asia-Pacific, Gilles Campion, said that the STARNEWS feed will supplement AFP's daily pictorial coverage of South Korea.

"K-pop has a huge global following. We hope to meet the ever growing demand for pictures of South Korean musicians, entertainers and others from newspapers, magazines, websites and other users," Campion said.

Campion said that the deal with STARNEWS was another step in AFP's drive at making ImageForum a one-stop shop for pictures.

"The STARNEWS pictures will add to the rich portfolio our many clients can draw from," he said.

STARNEWS CEO Chang Yoon Ho said his company was committed to supplying pictures that are "exclusive and of the highest quality".

"We are delighted to be working with AFP, which for the first time gives us a global reach," he said.

STARNEWS, founded in 2004, focuses on the entertainment industry and is a member of South Korea's MoneyToday group with interests in print, TV and new media.

AFP's ImageForum has some 16 million AFP photos and seven million more from 35 partner newspapers and specialised picture agencies. It is used by thousands of newspapers, magazines, websites, book publishers and others.