Arirang is reporting that the tenth round of negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership kicked off on Monday in Busan. Although the trade pact is expected to gain momentum following the conclusion of the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership,.... many obstacles remain. For more on these potential stumbling blocks,... Shin Se-min reports.

Having missed out on the window to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement as an initial member,… Korea is accelerating efforts to be part of another mega trade deal in the works,… the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP.

[slug]
Population of RCEP countries stands at 3.4 billion

The RCEP has 16 parties involved, including Korea, China, Japan, Australia, and India, along with ten member nations from ASEAN,… aiming to create one of the world's biggest economic blocs with three-point-four billion people.

And, if signed,… Korea's trade ministry predicts that the deal will lock in nearly 30 percent of the global trade volume,… or some ten-point-six billion U.S. dollars,… involving a combined population that's much greater than that of the TPP.

[INTERVIEW]
Park No-hyoung / Prof. of Law, Korea University
(Korean)
"Although it isn't fair to compare the two trade pacts, the TPP and RCEP, since they're different in characteristics,... it's clear that RCEP will open up a wider consumer and market base considering the number of countries it involves."

[SLUG]
Many RCEP nations have rapidly expanding economies

That's why Korean companies are expected to see more visible benefits from the RCEP agreement, as many of the member nations also have faster growing economies than those in the TPP. But the road ahead still looks bumpy. In terms of progress made on the pact, it's unlikely the talks will be able to meet China's hopeful year-end deadline.

[INTERVIEW]
Park No-hyoung / Prof. of Law, Korea University
(Korean)
"The speed of the talks, however, will pick up pace,… because the U.S. and Japan-led TPP agreement has done enough to provoke China to add speed to the RCEP."

[CG IN]
Deal may not meet initial year-end deadline

At the same time, reaching an agreement among economic giants like India, China, and Japan will be a considerable hurdle... adding more skepticism to a speedy conclusion of the deal.

[REPORTER]
Shin Se-min

"The focus is now on how negotiations in Busan will unfold,… as the first meeting among RCEP member nations takes place, following the landmark agreement on the TPP. It's likely to add pressure to involved parties to sort out differences and make faster progress on the regional trade framework.

Shin Se-min, Arirang News."