Seoul, Canberra to start FTA talks, forge new security pact

By Byun Duk-kun
CANBERRA, March 5 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Australian
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd were set to significantly expand their countries' ties
Thursday during a summit here to announce a new security pact and the start of
negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA).

The new security pact is expected to elevate the Korea-Australia relations by
calling for cooperation in a wide range of areas, including counter-terrorism,
non-proliferation and disarmament, and military exchanges, according to South
Korean officials here.
The envisioned FTA will help deepen economic ties between South Korea, the
world's 13th largest economy, and Australia, the world's 15th largest, they said.
The two are already engaged in trade worth over US$23 billion in goods and
services annually.
Lee arrived here earlier Thursday from Sydney, where he made a 24-hour visit to
meet with ranking state officials, including New South Wales Governor Marie
Bashir, to discuss ways to strengthen Korea-Australia ties.
He is currently on a three-nation trip that has taken him to New Zealand and will
end in Jakarta.
South Korea and New Zealand also agreed to begin talks for an FTA, with the first
round of negotiations slated for as early as June this year.
"The negotiations (for Korea-Australia FTA) will start within the first half of
the year as the countries hope to conclude them before the end of the year," an
official from South Korea's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said.
The sides have held what officials called "preliminary" talks last year, in
addition to a joint public hearing in Seoul.
The FTA, if signed, will be the largest of its kind entered into by Seoul since a
deal with Washington was signed in 2007. The Korea-U.S. FTA still needs to be
ratified by both the South Korean and U.S. legislature.
The Lee-Rudd meeting is also expected to focus on the global economic downturn as
both leaders have expressed strong opposition against a growing trend toward
protectionist measures.
"President Lee and Prime Minister Rudd will discuss joint efforts to overcome the
economic crisis, as well as their cooperation in the G-20 summit" to be held in
London in April, Cheong Wa Dae said.
North Korea will also be high on the agenda for the summit as both Seoul and
Canberra support a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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