SEOUL: Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard on called Saturday for the fast introduction of a free trade agreement with Seoul after talks stalled over access to the South Korean beef market. Speaking at a dinner for business leaders after arriving in the South Korean capital, Gillard said she would discuss the FTA with President Lee Myung-bak in Monday talks. “I am very confident that we can strike a mutually acceptable agreement,” she said, adding she hoped also to boost trade by matching Australia's services economy with South Korea's high-tech industries. The FTA talks, which started in May 2009, hit a snag over Australia's demand for the opening of South Korea's beef market, a South Korean official said. Australia is seeking a similar level of market access to that provided to the United States in an FTA signed in December but not yet in force. In 2010 Australia exported 122,000 tons of beef to South Korea, accounting for 49.7 percent of all beef South Korea imported that year – followed by the United States, which supplied 40 percent. Gillard's talks with Lee will also cover security, trade, resources and other issues, the presidential Blue House has said. On Sunday she will attend a ceremony commemorating the 60th anniversary of a fierce battle at Gapyeong, where a small force of Australian and other allies defeated an attack by a Chinese division during the Korean War in 1951. This battle helped stop the Chinese “spring offensive” and proved crucial in preventing a Chinese breakthrough towards Seoul, Gillard said. On Monday, Gillard will attend the ANZAC Day Dawn Service – Australia's memorial day – at the National War Memorial in Seoul. – Agence France
