S. Korea, Indonesia to meet on free trade deal this week

SEOUL, July 6 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and Indonesia will hold the first round of feasibility study talks on a bilateral free trade deal this week, Seoul's trade ministry said Wednesday. In 2007, a free trade agreement between South Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which includes Indonesia, went into effect. But Seoul has been seeking to forge higher-level separate free trade deals with Indonesia, Malaysia and other Asian countries. The meeting for the so-called comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA), similar to a free trade deal, will be held in Jakarta on Thursday, with both sides seeking to launch free trade negotiations in November, the ministry said. Bilateral trade reached US$22.9 billion last year with South Korea's exports to Indonesia amounting to $8.9 billion, according to the ministry. South Korea, whose economy heavily depends on trade, has been aggressive in forging trade pacts with other nations, highlighted by the sealing of a free trade accord with the European Union (EU) in October last year. The free trade pact with the EU came into effect on July 1 after South Korea's National Assembly ratified the deal in May. The European Parliament passed the accord in February.