South Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will kick off a meeting of a joint panel on a free trade agreement.

At the two-day talks in Jakarta, government officials, academics and business figures from the two sides will exchange information on trade regulations and practices. They will also discuss future direction and measures in negotiating FTAs.

South Korea and ASEAN plan to hold three or four more such talks and submit a joint report on their findings at a bilateral summit set for the end of this year.

Last October, the two sides agreed to carry out joint studies on ways to strengthen economic cooperation, including FTAs.