S Korea, US to hold FTA meetings

Officials of South Korea and the United States will meet in Washington this week to check on the implementation of the free trade agreement between the two countries, the foreign ministry said Wednesday. Seoul and Washington have established the minister-level Joint Committee and 19 subcommittees and working groups to oversee the implementation of the landmark trade pact that went into force in March, according to South Korea's news agency (Yonhap). Of them, the committees on trade in goods, trade remedy, service and investment, and the working group on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will hold two days of meetings in Washington from Thursday, the ministry said. The committee on trade in goods will talk about issues like customs and places of origin while the trade remedy committee will discuss carrying out obligations specified in the agreement, the ministry said. The SMEs committee will discuss how to help smaller firms take better advantage of the pact. South Korea's delegation is led by Choi Dong-gyou, a director general at the foreign ministry, and also includes officials from the finance ministry, the justice ministry, the Korea Customs Service and the agency handling SMEs affairs, the ministry said.