South Korea, ASEAN to start trade talks

South Korea, ASEAN to start trade talks

Agence France-Presse, Seoul

South Korea will begin negotiating a free trade agreement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) next year, Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon said on Wednesday.

Seoul will make an official announcement when President Roh Moo-Hyun attends a summit in Laos for the 10-member regional trade bloc next week, Ban said.

"South Korea is a latecomer but will work hard," Ban told a weekly briefing.

Seoul, the world's 12th largest economy, has concluded only one FTA so far and has been slow in initiating free trade talks with other nations.

ASEAN is already negotiating separate free-trade agreements with China, Japan and India to be completed within 10 years.

South Korea is expected to sign a comprehensive cooperation partnership joint declaration with ASEAN to establish a free trade area within 10 years or earlier, according to sources.

Officials say economic integration would be one of the key issues at the annual ASEAN summit to open in the Laotian capital of Vientiane from Nov. 29-30.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

South Korea, which signed its first and only free trade pact with Chile last year, is negotiating separate free trade deals with Singapore and Japan.

Ban said he expected Seoul to reach an accord with Singapore this year.

"The government is aiming to strike a deal with Singapore within this year. The deal is coming soon," he said.

Progress in free trade negotiations between South Korea and Japan, however, has been slow although both sides hope to sign an agreement by 2005.

Some analysts say the negotiations could be protracted due to differences over when and how to eliminate tariffs as Seoul remains concerned about its chronic trade deficit with Tokyo.