Korea, China and Japan completed the second round of talks for their trilateral trade pact, adding momentum to their push for economic unity in Northeast Asia.

During the four-day meeting held in Shanghai this week, the representatives of the three countries discussed key issues such as rules of origins and customs procedures, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on Friday.

This was progress from the first round of talks held in Seoul in March, in which the basic terms of reference were adopted.

The chief negotiators were Korean Trade Negotiating Director Woo Tae-hee, Chinese Assistant Commerce Minister Yu Jianhua and Japanese deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Affairs Koji Tsuruoka.

The parties also decided to invite experts on the environment, food and governmental procurement to the next round of talks in order to decide whether they should be included in the negotiation, officials said.

The third round of talks will be held in Japan in November or December, while detailed schedules have yet to be decided.

The blueprint of the Korea-China-Japan FTA was first suggested in 2003 by the private sector, but it was only in November last year that the three governments officially declared the start of free trade talks.

Last year, the combined gross domestic product of the three countries amounted to $15 trillion, accounting for about 20 percent of the world’s total and 70 percent of Asia’s.

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)