SEOUL  - South Korea and the European Union will hold talks next Tuesday to discuss preparations for their bilateral free trade pact scheduled to take effect next month, the foreign ministry here said Thursday.

The upcoming talks in Seoul will be led by South Korea's chief negotiator for the trade agreement, Choi Seok-young, and his EU counterpart Ignacio Bercero.

South Korean parliament approved the pact in May, three months after the European parliament passed its first trade accord with an East Asian country. The deal was originally signed last October.

Under the deal, the two sides are expected to eliminate 98 percent of import duties and other trade barriers in manufactured goods, agricultural products and services over the next five years.

The deal is expected to boost South Korea's exports by $2.5 billion and imports by $2.7 billion  on annual average for the next 15 years.