Eighth round of KORUS FTA in March

15 Feb '07

3 min read

The Republic of Korea and the United States agreed on Feb.14(Wednesday) to hold next round of KORUS FTA (free trade agreement) in Seoul, said the Korean chief negotiator Kim Jong-hoon.

The Korean top negotiator had a news conferecne in Washington after the seventh round of the bilateral trade talks came to an end. Kim stated in the conferecne, " Seoul and Washington have decided to hold the eighth round of KORUS FTA in Seoul from March 8 through March 12."

"This round have seen significant progress in the negotiations," Kim remarked, " although outcome of the round was not completely satisfactory or did not meet our expectations."

Meanwhile, Kim stressed on Feb.13 that Seoul and Washington can strike a deal on trade at an appropriate time, saying that significant progress has been made at the seventh round of the bilateral process.

The top Korean negotiator made the remarks on Tuesday at a briefing for Korean reporters, who came to Washington DC to make coverage on the ongoing trade negotiations.

“It seems to be impossible for the two nations to cut the deal on the agreement at this round,” he explained at the briefing. “We have not made much progress in some areas, including textile and intellectual property rights.”

With regard to possibility that Geaseong-made goods can be recognized as Korean products, Kim said that the agreement on denuclearization of North Korea by the nations, which are involved in the six-party talks, could create favorable condition for the issue.”

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