* KOSPI rises, foreigners net sellers Korean won strengthens against U.S. dollar South Korea benchmark bond yield falls

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SEOUL, March 25 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

** South Korean shares rose for the first time in five sessions on Thursday as reassurance from U.S. policymakers powered hopes of a faster economic rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Korean won strengthened, while the benchmark bond yield fell.

** The benchmark KOSPI rose 11.98 points, or 0.40%, to 3,008.33 as of 0633 GMT.

** Among the heavyweights, technology giant Samsung Electronics rose 0.25% and peer SK Hynix fell 0.37%, while LG Chem rose 0.51% and Naver fell 1.81%.

** Investors seem to be jumping into the local stock market every time the benchmark index swung below the 3,000-level, said Seo Jung-hun, an analyst at Samsung Securities.

** U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday indicated to Congress that they had confidence in the U.S. economy.

** North Korea launched two suspected ballistic missiles into the sea near Japan on Thursday, underscoring the country's weapons advancements, fuelling tension ahead of the Tokyo Olympics and ramping up pressure on the new Biden administration.

** Foreigners were net sellers of 82.1 billion won worth of shares on the main board.

** The won was quoted at 1,133.3 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.03% higher than its previous close at 1,133.6.

** In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,133.0 per dollar, up 0.2% from the previous day, while in non-deliverable forward trading, its one-month contract was quoted at 1,132.5.

** The KOSPI has risen 4.69% so far this year, but lost 4.0% in the previous 30 trading sessions.

** The most liquid 3-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by 2.7 basis points to 1.088%, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell by 2.8 basis points to 1.967%. ($1 = 1,133.0300 won) (Reporting by Cynthia Kim; Additional reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Devika Syamnath)