Park: S. Korea to sign free trade deal with Canada

South Korea will sign a free trade deal with Canada next week, President Park Geun-hye said Saturday, as she arrived in Ottawa for a three-day state visit on a trip that will also take her to New York for the U.N. General Assembly.

The two countries concluded a free trade agreement in March after nearly nine years of tough negotiations, a deal Seoul says could benefit South Korea's automobile industries, among other industries.

"The free trade deal will serve as an important occasion" to take bilateral relations up a further notch, Park said in a meeting with hundreds of Korean residents in Canada.

South Korean commerce minister Yoon Sang-jick is set to sign a deal with her Canadian counterpart Monday soon after Park holds a summit with Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

In March, Harper visited South Korea when the two countries announced the conclusion of a free trade deal.

Canada is the world's 11th-largest economy and one of the Group of Eight nations. But trade between Seoul and Ottawa has been relatively small, with Canada being only the 25th-largest trade partner for South Korea. Two-way trade amounted to nearly US$10 billion in 2013.

South Korea is the first Asian country to sign a free trade deal with Canada.

Ju Chul-ki, senior presidential secretary for foreign affairs, said the deal could further facilitate trade and investment between the two countries.

South Korea said it plans to submit a free trade deal to the parliament early next month for ratification.

On Sunday, Park plans to hold a separate meeting with Gov. General David Johnston, according to Park's office.

On Monday, Park will fly to New York where she will attend a banquet to be hosted by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, a former South Korean foreign minister, Park's office said.

On Tuesday, Park plans to attend the U.N. climate summit meant to galvanize action on cutting emissions of heat-trapping gases that scientists blame for global warming.

Park also plans to address the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday with a call for peace on the divided Korean Peninsula and in the region.

Tensions persist on the divided Korean Peninsula over the North's missile and nuclear programs as well as its military threats against South Korea in recent months.

In addition, Park plans to attend the U.N. Security Council summit Wednesday to discuss the issue of foreign fighters who have joined the terrorist organization known as the Islamic State.

Last week, South Korea's national security adviser, Kim Kwan-jin, outlined Seoul's plan to provide humanitarian support in the fight against the jihadist group during his meeting with his U.S. counterpart in Washington. (Yonhap)