KOREA CONTINUES FTA TALKS WITH SINGAPORE.

SEOUL, Feb 2 Asia Pulse - South Korea and Singapore have made significant progress in their initial round of talks on a proposed free trade agreement (FTA), paving the way for a possible signing by the end of this year, according to a top South Korean negotiator Friday.

"I think that at an appropriate time of this year, the two sides will be able to sign an FTA and then have it ratified," said Ahn Ho-young, director general of the ministry's multilateral trade bureau, who led Korea's delegation to the talks in Singapore.

Ahn said the two countries will hold further talks in March, May, July and September, with the last two rounds focusing on negotiations for concessions.

On Thursday, the two sides agreed to conclude the proposed FTA by the end of this year after three days of meetings on a wide range of trade issues. South Korea wants the pact to be finalized by the end of this year and go into effect early next year.

Under the agreement, the two countries will try to compose a final draft for each category of the trade pact during the first two rounds of negotiations and come up with mutually acceptable concessions on products and services in the July and September sessions.

During the meeting, South Korea presented a draft outlining its position on a range of areas, which the two sides will use as a basis for preparing a final draft after consultations, according to Korean officials. The next meeting will be in Seoul in late March.

The talks covered investment promotion, product trade, quarantine measures, technology barriers, a mutual recognition agreement, service trade, government procurement, competition, intellectual rights, cooperation and conflict resolution.