Seoul - EU and South Korean negotiators began two days of talks Monday to tackle issues that are holding up a free trade agreement, including industrial tariffs and trade barriers in the automotive industry.

"We are close to a gate that leads to a new era," South Korean Trade Minister Kim Jong Hoon, who is leading the talks along with EU Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton, was quoted as saying by the South Korean news agency Yonhap ahead of the meetings in Seoul.

"It will not be easy to resolve contentious issues, but having talks with an open-minded attitude is more important," he added.

South Korea wants to finish the negotiations, which began in May 2007, in the first quarter of this year.

Trade between South Korea and the European Union reached 93 billion dollars in 2007, making the union South Korea's second-largest trading partner after China. (dpa)