South Korea and New Zealand on Monday initialed their free trade agreement (FTA), concluded last month, that will eliminate import tariffs on more than 90 percent of goods traded between them.

The FTA was initialed in Wellington by South Korean Deputy Trade Minister Choi Kyong-lim and New Zealand Deputy Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade David Walker, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said.

Initialing of a free trade pact means that the two parties confirm every word on each page is final and will not be subject to changes before the official signing, according to the ministry.

The English version of the FTA, whose negotiations were concluded Nov. 15, was made public immediately after the initialing ceremony at www.fta.go.kr.

The ministry said the two countries have agreed to officially sign the agreement within the first half of next year. It will then be sent to the respective legislatures for approval before it can go into effect.

Under the pact, New Zealand will eliminate its import tariffs on 92 percent of all shipments from South Korea, in terms of their value, immediately after its implementation, and completely remove all tariffs on South Korean products within seven years.

South Korea will reciprocate by removing tariffs on 96.4 percent of shipments from New Zealand over a 15-year period following the implementation of the deal. The two sides have agreed to exclude some products from the deal, mostly agricultural goods, such as rice, that are considered most sensitive in South Korea.

In 2013, bilateral trade between the two countries came to US$2.8 billion, making New Zealand South Korea's 44th-largest trading partner and South Korea New Zealand's 41st, according to the ministry. (Yonhap)