Brussels, 18/09/2007 (Agence Europe) - According to information put out by the South Korean news agency Yonhap News, South Korea has no intention of giving any more slack in negotiations on a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) with the EU. At the end of the first day of the third round of talks in Brussels on 17 September, South Korean Chief Negotiator Kim Han-soo gave warning that Seoul would “stick to our revised tariff proposal” tabled this summer. “We had tough discussions today. The EU side has expressed disappointment with our revised tariff offer. We are shocked at such remarks,” said Kim, in a thinly veiled message to Peter Mandelson who has, since July, several time criticised the South Korean offer. Before the start of talks on Monday, EU Chief Negotiator Ignacio Garcia Bercero said he hoped that the third round would see progress, but that this would be dependent on a better South Korean offer. “We are in a very critical and difficult moment of negotiations. We found (South Korea's latest tariff offer) very disappointing. We acknowledge that although the revised offer sent by South Korea made some progress, it is still very far from the one we have sent,” Bercero said, in comments reported by Yonhap. In its offer, the EU is proposing the removal, phased over seven years, of all import taxes on South Korean goods, with 80% of tariffs to be reduced to zero in under three years following the agreement's coming into effect. South Korea's revised offer proposes the withdrawal, within three years, of its import duties on 68% of Community goods (compared with 63% in its initial proposal. (eh)