MOSCOW (Sputnik) — South Korea and China have agreed to start implementing a free trade agreement (FTA) on December 20, the South Korean Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.
"Within the framework of implementation of the agreement's provisions, signed between the leaders of the two countries, according to which the FTA must take effect within a year, as well as for the fastest implementation of measures in interests of business, the sides agreed to start to fulfill the agreement on December 20," the statement said.
The South Korean parliament ratified the FTA with China on November 30. The bilateral agreement was signed in June 2015 after three years of negotiations.
In June 2015, The Diplomat magazine reported, citing Seoul’s Trade Ministry, that the China-South Korea FTA will boost bilateral trade to over $300 billion annually, in comparison to $215 billion in 2012.