Clinton Hopes Extra FTA Talks Will End Before G20 Summit

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last Saturday expressed hope that additional talks on a free trade agreement with Korea can be completed before the G20 Summit in Seoul on Nov. 11-12, Cheong Wa Dae spokeswoman Kim Hee-jung said.

Clinton was speaking in a meeting with President Lee Myung-bak at the Fifth East Asia Summit in Hanoi, Vietnam.

The deal, concluded in 2008, has been stuck in the parliaments of the two countries since. The U.S. wants Korea to ease environmental regulations for cars and import beef from cattle over 30 months, but Korea says meat imports are a matter of health and safety regulations and have no bearing on the FTA.

Following a first round of talks in San Francisco on Oct. 27, the trade chiefs of the two countries meet again before the G20 Summit opens.

Meanwhile, Cheong Wa Dae said Sunday that the president will hold a press conference on the G20 Summit on Wednesday for some 200 Korean and international reporters.