S. KOREA ‘SERIOUSLY’ LOOKING TO JOIN ASIA-PACIFIC DEAL

South Korea became the latest nation to express interest in joining an Asia-pacific trade deal, with the trade minister saying the government is “seriously and actively considering” the issue. Korea’s overture comes after China and Taiwan submitted formal requests recently to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-pacific Partnership, a free-trade pact between 11 countries around the Pacific Rim. The application from its Asian neighbours has created a sense of urgency in Seoul that they shouldn’t be left out of a deal that looks set to grow. Korea has so far said it’s reviewing joining the pact, but fell short of offering a timeline for its formal application. With an annual GDP of US$1.64 trillion, Korea would be the third-largest economy to join the US$13.5 trillion trade pact after Japan and Canada.