The South American trade bloc Mercosur and South Korea are considering launching talks to create a free trade area, Brazil's foreign minister Antonio Patriota said on Sunday, according to Reuters. The announcement followed a meeting between Dilma Rousseff, who was sworn in as Brazil's president on Saturday, with South Korean Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik in the capital Brasilia. "They spoke about the possibility of a trade accord Korea-Mercosur," Patriota told reporters after the meeting without giving details. It would be the latest in a series of bilateral trade negotiations Mercosur is pursuing as it regains some of its momentum after nearly a decade of internal strife and economic crises. The bloc hopes to conclude trade talks with the European Union by mid-2011 to create the world's largest free trade area. Mercosur economies are growing at an annual rate of between 7.5 percent and 9 percent, and internal trade, including that with prospective member Venezuela, has jumped to nearly $40 billion from a fraction of that a few years ago. Mercosur is made up of founding members Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. The remaining Spanish-speaking countries of South America are associate members. Brazil and South Korea also seek to deepen cooperation in nuclear energy, petroleum and ship building, Patriota said.
