South Korean president says announcement of free trade deal with EU likely imminent

September 21st, 2009 SKorea head proposes 'grand bargain'NEW YORK — South Korean President Lee Myung-bak proposed a "grand bargain" Monday to restart disarmament negotiations and end North Korea's nuclear arms program. Lee's proposal called for giving the North economic and political incentives, including a security guarantee, the Yonhap news agency reported.

August 23rd, 2009 SEOUL - South Korean President Lee Myung-bak held talks with a visiting North Korean delegation here Sunday amid Pyongyang's latest conciliatory moves that show signs of easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula, media reports said. A high-level North Korean delegation arrived here Friday to pay their last respect to late former South Korean president Kim Dae-jung who died recently.

August 21st, 2009 SEOUL - A delegation sent by North Korean leader Kim Jong Il arrived Friday in Seoul to pay respects to the late South Korean president Kim Dae Jung, who won the 2000 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to reconcile the two Koreas. The visit was the first to South Korea by high-ranking North Korean functionaries since the inauguration of conservative South Korean President Lee Myung Bak in February last year.

August 18th, 2009 Report: Former South Korean president diesSEOUL, South Korea — Yonhap news agency says former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung has died. The 85-year-old leader had been hospitalized since last month for pneumonia.

August 16th, 2009 Mexico's president favor trade deal with BrazilSAO PAULO — Mexican President Felipe Calderon says he supports the idea of a free trade agreement between Brazil and Mexico, the two biggest economies in Latin America. Calderon says he's enthusiastic about the idea of a deal proposed by Brazilian business executives to push for a commercial accord for the two nations.

August 7th, 2009 SKorea, India sign broad agreement to boost tradeSEOUL, South Korea — South Korea and India signed a broad trade agreement Friday to slash tariffs on goods and services in a bid to increase commerce between two of Asia's biggest economies. South Korean Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon and India's Minister of Commerce and Industry Anand Sharma penned what the two sides formally called a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, but which South Korea is calling a free trade deal.

August 7th, 2009 South Korea, India sign free trade agreementSEOUL, South Korea — South Korea and India signed an ambitious free trade agreement Friday that slashes tariffs, encourages investment and promotes exchange of skills in a bid to double fast-growing commerce between two of Asia's biggest economies over the next decade. South Korean Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon and India's Minister of Commerce and Industry Anand Sharma signed what the two sides formally called a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, but which in reality is a free trade deal.

June 17th, 2009 Lee and Obama discuss free trade dealWASHINGTON — South Korean President Lee Myung-bak is urging representatives of top U.S. companies to push for quick ratification of a stalled U.S.-South Korean free trade deal.

May 28th, 2009 LONDON - Two Indian sailors who have been detained in South Korea for close to 18 months for an oil spillage that New Delhi says they did not cause are to be set free within two weeks, Indian diplomatic sources said Thursday. South Korean diplomats at the UN International Maritime Organisation (IMO) in London have said they expect Jasprit Chawla, captain of the Hebei Spirit, and Chief Officer Shyam Chetan to be allowed to fly back within two weeks, Indian diplomats told IANS.

May 5th, 2009 Canada to talk trade despite EU seal product banTORONTO — Canada's trade minister says a European Parliament ban of Canadian seal products won't prevent Canada and the EU from agreeing on a wide-ranging free-trade agreement. The European Parliament voted Tuesday to ban imports of seal products in an effort to force Canada to end its annual seal hunt.

April 22nd, 2009 SKorean-US trade deal nears vote in legislatureSEOUL, South Korea — A South Korean parliamentary committee approved a free trade agreement with the United States on Wednesday, paving the way for the deal to be voted on by the entire legislature. Park Jin, chairman of the National Assembly's foreign affairs and trade committee, announced that his committee passed the trade pact, despite frantic efforts by opposition members to disrupt the session.

April 22nd, 2009 SKorean parliamentary committee approves US FTASEOUL, South Korea — A South Korean lawmaker says a parliamentary committee has approved a free trade agreement with the United States, paving the way for the deal to be voted on by the entire legislature. The approval was announced Wednesday by Park Jin, the chairman of the National Assembly's trade committee.

April 22nd, 2009 Melee breaks out in SKorea over US free trade dealSEOUL, South Korea — A melee broke out between rival South Korean politicians after the chairman of a parliamentary committee approved a proposed free trade agreement with the United States on Wednesday. Park Jin, chairman of the National Assembly's foreign affairs and trade committee, announced his committee passed the trade pact, despite frantic efforts by opposition members to physically disrupt the session.

April 21st, 2009 SEOUL - A South Korean delegation reached North Korea Tuesday morning to participate in talks amid mounting tensions in the Korean Peninsula. 'The delegation has crossed the border,' a spokesman of South Korea's Unification Ministry said.

April 19th, 2009 SEOUL - The South Korean government Sunday said that it has decided to accept Pyongyang's offer for holding inter-Korean talks next week. It will be the first governmental talks between South Korea and North Korea since South Korean President Lee Myung-bak took office in February last year.