Talks set for Japan, S. Korea, ASEAN

Talks set for Japan, S. Korea, ASEAN

Japan and South Korea have agreed to begin
negotiating a free trade agreement with Southeast Asian nations
next year, and the discussions with Japan will wrap up within two
years, an official said on Friday.

The Japanese and Korean plans to begin the talks with the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations came as one of their
biggest economic rivals, China, prepared to sign parts of a trade
pact with the 10-nation group.

Japan and South Korea, which aren't ASEAN members, were
invited to join meetings this week at ASEAN's annual summit in
the Laotian capital of Vientiane. ASEAN leaders were to meet on
Monday and Tuesday.

Ong Keng Yong, ASEAN's secretary-general, told reporters on
Friday that Japan has agreed to start talks at an unspecified
date early next year. "We just have to get all the officials to
sit down," he said.

He said that ASEAN and Japan have agreed on a deadline so that
the discussions wouldn't drag on indefinitely.

"The important thing is that we said we must finish our
negotiations in two years," he said.

Japan has long been a major source of investment and aid for
Southeast Asia. About 60 percent of the region's overseas aid has
come from Japan. Last year, Japan pledged US$3 billion in aid to
Southeast Asia.

Ong said that ASEAN leaders also planned to meet the South
Korean president next year to set up free trade talks. "My
understanding is that we should begin negotiations early next
year," he said.-- AP