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SKorea, EU to launch FTA talks

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-12-14 19:27

SEOUL -- South Korea and the European Union (EU) will kick off free trade agreement negotiations on Monday, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported on Sunday.

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According to Yonhap, the talks will be held from Monday to Wednesday in Vienna in a bid to resolve contentious issues such as auto trade and rules of origin in their free trade negotiations.

South Korean Deputy Trade Minister Lee Hye-min and his European counterpart Ignacio Garcia Bercero will discuss how the two sides can strike a deal as soon as possible, it said.

South Korea has held seven rounds of FTA negotiations with the EU so far. The EU is South Korea's second-largest trading partner after China.