South Korea, US hold talks Joining TPP

South Korea and the United States held high-level talks in Washington after South Korea expressed an interest last November in joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a U.S.-led multilateral trade agreement, Yonhap News Agency reported from Washington on Tuesday.In a meeting with South Korea’s Deputy Trade Minister Choi Kyong Lim, Acting Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Wendy Cutler welcomed Seoul’s decision, according to unidentified officials quoted in the report. Cutler explained “the domestic procedures the United States would follow in considering Korea’s interest in joining the TPP,” a U.S. trade official said.Choi’s discussion with Cutler marks the start of Seoul’s preliminary consultations with a dozen countries involved in the ongoing TPP negotiations.South Korea is scheduled to hold similar sessions with Mexico, Chile, Peru, Malaysia and Singapore later this month.