SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean President Moon Jae-in has proposed a joint project with China to use artificial rain to clean the air in Seoul, where an acute increase in pollution has caused alarm.

Moon also on Wednesday instructed government officials to quicken the retirement of old coal-burning power plants.

Seoul has been struggling to tackle the rise in air pollution that experts have linked to China's massive industrial activity and emission from South Korean cars.

Fine dust levels in South Korea have hit new highs over the past week, leaving people wearing masks while commuting under thick-gray skies online users have compared to the scenes of the movie "Wall-E."