South Korea and the United States have established a solid foundation for the conclusion of a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA), Seoul's finance minister said Monday.

"South Korea and the U.S. have established a firm base for the final conclusion of the FTA through the previous seven rounds of talks," Minister of Finance and Economy Kwon O-kyu said in a forum in Seoul.

"The government intends to concentrate its efforts on signing the FTA with the U.S. soon, as well as boosting public awareness on the agreement and drawing up a plan to protect local businesses from being hurt by the agreement," the minister said.

South Korea and the U.S. both reported "significant progress" in the last round of talks, but also acknowledged remaining "gaps" between the two sides in sensitive issues such as U.S. anti-dumping laws and Korean auto and pharmaceutical markets.

South Korea and the U.S. plan to hold their eighth round of FTA talks from March 8-12 in Seoul. Seoul's trade officials hinted that a ninth round of talks may be scheduled later in March in order to seal the deal.

The sides are racing to reach an agreement by the end of March so U.S. negotiators can submit the deal by April 2. U.S. President George W. Bush's so-called "fast-track" trade promotion authority expires on July 1.

"Through opening the Korean market wider, the businesses will be able to boost their productivity through receiving advanced technology and business management skills, as well as through enduring a heightened competition," Kwon said.

"As part of such efforts, the government has also been pushing to attract foreign investment in the free economic zones and improve the environment for foreign investors," he said.