** South Korean shares ended lower on Wednesday, as U.S. President Donald Trump's remarks stoked fears that the trade war with China could drag on much longer than expected.

** The Korean won slightly gave up its losses, with some foreign exchange dealers suspecting authorities of selling dollars to curb the won's fall. The benchmark bond yield also fell.

** President Trump said a trade agreement with China might have to wait until after the U.S. presidential election in November 2020, denting hopes of a resolution soon to a dispute that has weighed on the world economy.

** Further dampening the mood, China said it resolutely opposed the U.S. House of Representatives' bill requiring the Trump administration to toughen its response to what the bill called China's crackdown on ethnic minorities in the western region of Xinjiang.

** In the short term, Trump's comments were the biggest factor, but in the longer term, worries increased that U.S.-China trade friction could take a toll on U.S. manufacturing sector and subsequently affect South Korea's exports, said Na Jeong-hwan, an analyst at DS Investment & Securities.

** The Seoul stock market's main KOSPI ended down 15.18 points, or 0.73%, at 2,068.89.

** Foreigners were net sellers of 375.6 billion won ($318.49 million) worth of shares on the main board. They were net sellers for a 20th straight session.

** The won was quoted at 1,194.3 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform , 0.59% lower than its previous close at 1,187.2. Earlier, the currency fell to as low as 1,195.8 per dollar, posting its lowest level since Oct. 10.

** In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,194.6 per U.S. dollar, down 0.4% from the previous day, while in non-deliverable forward trading, its one-month contract was quoted at 1,193.1 per dollar.

** MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan <.MIAPJ0000PUS> was down 0.78%, after U.S. stocks closed down overnight [MKTS/GLOB]. Japanese stocks <.N225> fell 1.05%.

** The KOSPI has risen 1.36% so far this year, but lost 0.2% in the previous 30 trading sessions.

** The trading volume during the session in the KOSPI index was 330.10 million shares. Of the total 907 issues traded, 201 advanced.

** The won has lost 6.6% against the dollar so far this year.

** In money and debt markets, December futures on three-year treasury bonds rose 0.18 points to 110.42, while the 3-month Certificate of Deposit rate was quoted at 1.53% in late afternoon trade.

** The most liquid 3-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by 5.5 basis points to 1.407% in late afternoon trade, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell by 7.7 basis points to 1.660%.

(Reporting by Hayoung Choi; Editing by Rashmi Aich)