Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon says the United States legislature will ratify the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement in 2010, although it has been placing a lot of attention on the war in Afghanistan and the reform of the domestic health care system.

Kim, who led the Korean delegation to the 7th World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference, commented that the U.S. has no objections to the accord except for the automobile sector.

Regarding the Doha Development Agenda, which is in its 8th year of stalemate, Kim predicted that the first quarter of 2010 would be a turning point.