Despite the initiative of the participating countries, the ongoing negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership are not likely to reach a conclusion within the year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

“It will be a highly complicated task for the parties to round off the TPP talks within the year, due to the number and range of unsolved pending issues,” said Choi Kyung-lim, assistant vice minister of trade, on Wednesday.

As for Korea’s participation in the United States-led TPP round, he once again reserved his words, saying that “nothing has been decided yet.”

Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se, on the other hand, said during the parliamentary audit session last week that the Korean government “reached a consensus on the need to join the TPP,” displaying a more aggressive stance than the MOTIE.

The United States and Japan, along with other TPP member states, had earlier pledged to add momentum and finish the negotiations within the year ― thus leaving little time for Korea to decide its participation.

This timeline, however, is likely to be delayed due to the lack of consensus among the member countries, according to the MOTIE.

“Though Korea does not have access to detailed data, it seems that there are various uncompromised issues,” Choi said.

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