A Kia labour union official said Kia's strike would last through Monday.Company officials said production had been halted on all assembly lines since Thursday and there was no immediate sign of an end to the strike."We haven't yet decided what to do after Monday. But I cannot rule out the possibility of a long-lasting strike if our demands are not met," the labour union official said.

Kia's work force of nearly 14,000 is striking in protest against the possible takeover of the car-maker. Kia was put into receivership on Wednesday along with sister firm Asia Motors Corp.

Court-appointed administrator Yoo Chong-Yul was quoted on Saturday by a Kia spokesman as saying that the government planned to cut its current share capital in the financially troubled Kia Motors and then to issue new shares to cover the difference. The new shares will be sold andthe existing largest shareholder, Ford Motor will be invited to buy. He gave no further details.

"You may interpret the plan the government is planning to sell Kia to a third party. But it's not at all," Yoo was quoted as saying.

Hyundai Group has said it wants to take over Kia and Samsung Group is believed to be interested in a takeover. Analysts believe any Korean company wanting to take over Kia would need a foreign partner.

"Under the current circumstances, investment by Ford is definitely needed. For this, a debt-to-equity swap by the Korea Development Bank is essential," he said.

The state-run Korea Development Bank is a major creditor of Kia Motors. Meanwhile, more than 13,000 Kia Motors Corp workers walked off their jobs for the second straight day on Friday, vowing to foil what they called government moves to sell of their debt-ridden car firm. There was no direct government response but it has been reported that the government, as the largest shareholder in the troubled auto-maker, hasdecided to sell it off. Government officials have said the firm has little chances of rehabilitation.

`Don't you understand why we are doing this. The pain of joblessness is death itself,' Kim Ho-sung, a union leader, said by telephone. The leader said thousands of Kia workers in two plants in the countryside were travelling to Seoul to stage a street protest later on Friday. Authorities have outlawed the strike.

The Kia protests were the largest labour unrest since president Kim Dae-jung took power in February.