According to a report by the ministry, South Korea will launch the joint study, in which government officials, scholars and business representatives from all three countries will participate.The report says that along with the trilateral agreement, the country will continue to push for settling separate bilateral trade agreements with China and Japan.

South Korea has been seeking more economic integration within the Northeast Asia by creating favorable conditions for free trade agreements.

Read the (very brief) complete article.

Analysis: Call South Korea duty-free butter, because it is on a trade agreement roll!

South Korea has been racking up trade agreements with the EU, India, New Zealand, and Canada recently. That is in addition to its existing agreements with Singapore, EFTA, ASEAN, Chile, and Peru.

South Korea is strongly expanding its competitive reach in the global market by offering its already competitive products (specifically cars and electronics) at what will be an even lower cost in markets like the EU, Canada, and New Zealand.

The possibility of this agreement creates even more pressure on the standstill KORUS trade agreement, which is awaiting approval by US Congress. If American products are to remain competitively priced in countries such as China, Korea, and Japan, passing KORUS will be key to their success.

President Barack Obama wants to sign a free trade pact with Japan, U.S. Ambassador to Japan John Roos told the Nikkei English News in an interview yesterday.Roos said progress on a trade agreement can “hopefully” continue, Nikkei said. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and Japanese experts should continue to talk about a schedule for negotiating a free trade agreement, the new U.S. envoy told Nikkei.