South Korea agreed to strike a free trade agreement with the Philippines by November at the latest, with plans to further its bilateral trade ties across Southeast Asia.

Korea’s deputy minister for trade negotiations Yoo Myung-hee met her Philippine counterpart Ramon Lopez in Manila and agreed to speed up trade discussions with an aim to reach a trade pact in time for Korea’s special summit with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in November, according to Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on Wednesday.

Korea has been in talks with the Philippines on liberalizing the trade of goods as part of its ongoing process to revise the terms of its free trade agreement with ASEAN. This is a separate negotiation from its current FTA talks with ASEAN.

The Philippines is Korea’s fifth-largest trading partner in Southeast Asia, with total trade volume between the two countries reaching $15.6 billion last year.

Korea is currently pursuing separate trade agreements with Indonesia, its No. 2 trading partner in ASEAN, and Malaysia. Once it concludes all three deals, it would have clinched FTAs with its top five trading countries in the region.

Korea has special historical ties with the Philippines. The island nation was the first Southeast Asian country to deploy troops to the Korean War in 1950, and this year marks the 70th anniversary of their diplomatic relations. In 2013, when a deadly typhoon swept over the Philippines, Korea sent military engineers and medical staff to help with relief and restoration efforts.

By Lim Sung-hyun and Kim Hyo-jin

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