South Korea Trade Negotiator Expects EU to Agree to Inter-Korean Products

Jun 19, 06:28 AM

Current Headlines: Text of report in English by South Korean news agency Yonhap

Seoul, June 19 (Yonhap) - The chief South Korean negotiator in free trade agreement (FTA) talks with the European Union said Tuesday he expects his European counterparts to accept Seoul's position that a pact between the two sides should include goods made in an inter-Korean industrial park in North Korea.

South Korea, having struck a free trade deal with the United States in early April, began similar negotiations with the EU in May. The issue of the North Korean facility hasn't been officially raised at the negotiations yet.

"In past FTA negotiations, South Korea has demanded special treatment for Kaesong-made goods," Deputy Trade Minister Kim Han- soo said at a forum organized by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in Korea, referring to the South Korean-built industrial complex in the North Korean border city of Kaesong [Kaeso'ng].

"We expect the EU to give a positive answer," Kim said, citing what he called the similarity of the industrial park's role in inter- Korean relations to the EU's achievements for political peace based on its economic cooperation and integration.

South Korea considers the industrial park, located just north of the world's most heavily fortified border, as a model for inter- Korean economic cooperation. About 15,000 North Korean workers are employed by 23 South Korean companies in the complex.

The industrial park is one of the prominent symbols of inter- Korean reconciliation efforts following a landmark summit in 2000 between then South Korean president Kim Tae-chung [Kim Dae-jung] and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il [Kim Cho'ng-il].

The Kaesong [Kaeso'ng] matter was one of thorniest issues in 10 months of tough negotiations between South Korea and the US, but the two sides made an artful compromise, letting them discuss the issue later depending on progress in international efforts to dismantle the North's nuclear weapons programme.

Kim said free trade negotiations with the EU were going well and that the two sides will make "their utmost efforts" to find a balance of interests. The two sides will hold a second round of negotiations in Brussels in the third week of July.

Hayeon Park, a spokeswoman for the EU's delegation in South Korea, wasn't immediately available for comment.

On Saturday, North Korea said it invited United Nations nuclear inspectors to discuss how to verify and monitor "the suspension of the operations of nuclear facilities" at its Yongbyon nuclear reactor, Pyongyang's first step to implement a February agreement to end its nuclear weapons programme.

The announcement came after the North's $25 million was released from Macau-based Banco Delta Asia. The frozen funds in the bank were a major obstacle to implementation of the agreement.

On Feb. 13, the North agreed to shut down its Yongbyon reactor in return for energy and other aid at international talks involving the two Koreas, the US, China, Russia and Japan.

However, North Korea said it wouldn't implement the accord unless it received the funds, which were frozen due to financial sanctions by the US government.

South Korea is the EU's eighth-largest trading partner, with the two-way trade volume totalling US$79 billion last year. The EU is the biggest foreign investor in South Korea.

(c) 2007 BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.