American trade journal Inside U.S. Trade reported Friday that Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Danny Sepulveda told business representatives that the USTR intends to address pending issues on FTAs with Panama, Colombia and Korea without renegotiating.

During a meeting held at the National Assembly on Monday, the Korean trade minister said that the U.S. is revising its trade policy and becoming increasingly positive over the Korea-U.S. trade pact. He said that although the U.S. has expressed dissatisfaction over the deal, it did not mention renegotiation, which he views as an encouraging sign. Kim went on to say that talks between Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the U.S. Trade Representative are expected to be held in May ahead of the Korea-U.S. summit talks scheduled for June.

The trade minister also said that he believes Korea's initial move of ratifying the FTA would prompt the U.S. to follow suit.

The bilateral trade pact was concluded in April and signed in June of 2007. Ratification of the deal has been delayed, however, due to opposition from U.S. President Barack Obama who called it "badly flawed" and "imbalanced" during his presidential campaign.

Arirang News