SEOUL, Oct. 8 (UPI) -- South Korea-EU free-trade agreements may be reached by year's end as a dispute over car trade is expected to be settled soon, officials said.
South Korea and the 27-nation economic bloc recently had their third round of free trade negotiations in Brussels but didn't make meaningful progress because of a dispute over tariff concessions, especially car trade issues, Yonhap New Agency reported.
"Both sides will be able to make a breakthrough in the negotiations over car trade," South Korea's Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon told Yonhap.
With the exception of tariffs, the sides moved ahead in areas such as service and trade dispute resolution, Kim said.
"The EU also hopes for a deal by the year's end," Kim said, "and negotiations on tariffs are expected to accelerate down the road."
The European Union is South Korea's second-largest trading partner after China.
