A senior official of a U.S. credit rating agency says the delay in ratifying a free trade agreement with Chile won't have a negative effect on its review of South Korea's sovereign ratings.

Tom Byrne, the chief of the Korean Section at Moody's Investors Service, made the comment Wednesday before talks with South Korean financial officials.

Mr. Byrne and his delegation will meet officials from economic ministries, the central bank and financial regulators for two days of talks for a routine review of the nation's investment grade.

The delegation will also meet officials from national security and foreign affairs offices to discuss the security situation around the Korean Peninsula, including the dispute over North Korea's nuclear ambitions.

The rating agency raised Korea's sovereignty credit rating to an "A-Three" grade in March 2002. But the agency downgraded the nation's investment outlook by two notches to "negative" from "positive" a year ago, citing the North Korea nuclear standoff.