DHAKA: South Korea said on Monday it had effectively reached a free trade agreement with China that will eventually remove tariffs on over 90 percent of goods, although some details remain under negotiation.

The announcement came after South Korean president Park Geun Hye met Chinese president Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Apec summit in Beijing.

Park’s office said the two countries had ‘effectively reached’ a deal, while Xi said the negotiations had made ‘significant progress’, reports The Straits Times.

A South Korean government statement made it clear that differences remained over a few unspecified ‘details’ that would have to be bridged before the FTA could be signed - hopefully by the end of the year.

BDST: 1732 HRS, NOV 10, 2014