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Peru's Foreign Min: Japan, South Korea Trade Deals Seen Near

LIMA -(Dow Jones)- Foreign Affairs Minister Jose Antonio Garcia Belaunde said that Peru is working to advance trade pacts with both South Korea and Japan.

Garcia Belaunde is traveling with President Alan Garcia in Asia before the APEC forum summit scheduled for this weekend.

"My impression before leaving Lima was that the trade deal with Korea was very far advanced and didn't need much, and I expect we can confirm this impression now that we are in Korea," Garcia Belaunde told RPP radio.

Peru and Japan have held a number of negotiating sessions, although a high- level Peruvian government negotiator complained this week publicly that Japan wasn't ready to open its market.

"The deal with Japan appears to have more problems, but following the meeting that the president had last night with the prime minister of Japan, it is clear that there is the political will, and a decision has been made to instruct delegations on how to proceed to overcome the difficulties," the foreign minister said.

Peru, which already has signed trade deals with the U.S., Canada and China, has also been negotiating a free-trade pact with Thailand.

-By Robert Kozak, Dow Jones Newswires; 511-99927 7269; peru@dowjones.com

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