South Korea will open bilateral negotiations with China on opening Seoul's rice market in Beijing Wednesday.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry said Tuesday South Korea will hold similar talks with Thailand in Bangkok on Friday and with Australia in Canberra next Tuesday.

The South Korean delegation to the talks will be led by Seoul's top diplomat for the Doha Development Agenda negotiations, Lee Jae-gil. The delegation will be comprised of officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Ministry of Finance and Economy and Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

South Korea is pushing for the extension of a 10-year grace period on rice market opening. It that is impossible, the government is also considering alternatives such as shifting to a tariff system or raising its import quota beyond the current four percent-level of domestic consumption - the level set by the WTO's minimal market access (MMA) scheme from which South Korea currently benefits.

Under the 1994 Uruguay Round multilateral trade negotiations, South Korea must conclude talks on the possible opening of its rice market by the end of this year.