The Republic of Korea (RoK) is undertaking maximum efforts to sign free trade agreements (FTAs) with Vietnam, China and New Zealand by the end of this year in a bid to boost the country’s presence overseas, according to the RoK’s Prime Minister Chung Hong-Won.

An agreement was reached earlier this month by Vietnamese and RoK leaders to conclude their FTA negotiations before the year is out.

Signs of progress were noted in RoK–China negotiations, despite a few disagreements on industrial and agricultural goods and seafood.

Meanwhile, RoK and New Zealand started their 9 th round of free trade talks on October 15.-VNA