South Korea will hold another round of free trade negotiations with six Central American countries this week.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on Sunday said the fifth round of Free Trade Agreement(FTA) talks between South Korea and the six countries will be held for five days beginning on Monday in Seoul.

Declaring the launch of free trade talks last June, South Korea held four rounds of talks through May with El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Guatemala and Costa Rica.

During the fifth round, they are expected to focus on discussing the mechanisms through which the two sides will reach consensus on major contentious issues.

They also plan to accelerate negotiations on the market opening for South Korea’s main export items, such as cars and textile, in addition to lowering the trade barriers in the fields of services, investment and government procurement.

Trade Ministry’s Deputy Director General of FTA Yeo Han-koo will head the South Korean government delegation during the fifth round of talks while the Central American countries will be spearheaded by Nicaragua’s Vice Minister of Development, Industry and Trade Jesus Bermudez.

The South Korean delegation consists of the representatives from the related government ministries, including the Trade Ministry, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries.