South Korea and China said Monday they had effectively secured a free trade agreement to remove tariffs on over 90 percent of goods, although some details remained under negotiation.

The announcement came after South Korean President Park Geun-Hye met Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Beijing.

Park's office said the two countries had "effectively reached" a deal, which Xi described as one of "landmark importance."

A South Korean government statement made it clear that differences remained over a few unspecified "details" that would have to be bridged before the FTA could be signed.

Any final document would require the approval of both national legislatures.

South Korea's deputy trade minister Woo Tae-Hee said there was little possibility of changes to any major clauses in the current agreement.

"A substantial conclusion of negotiations can be seen as a complete conclusion," Woo was quoted as saying by the Yonhap news agency.

The statement said the FTA would remove tariffs on 92 percent of Chinese goods imported to the South and 91 percent of the South's goods imported to China within 20 years.

China is currently South Korea's biggest trading partner and export market, and two-way trade stood at around $228.8 billion last year.

Exports to China -- the world's second-largest economy -- totalled $145.8 billion in 2013, more than a quarter of the South's total overseas shipments.

The two neighbours started trade negotiations in 2012 but progress has been delayed by differences on the extent of market-opening.

There have also been protests from Korean farmers who fear an influx of cheap Chinese imports.

The South Korean statement said the FTA would exclude a number of farm products like rice, beef, pork and pepper -- which account for 30 percent by value of agricultural imports from China.

"The latest FTA will help us secure an opportunity to tap into the vast Chinese market," the statement said, estimating bilateral trade would grow to $300 billion in 2015.

The deal also removes many regulatory restrictions in services, investment, finance and culture, making it easier for companies to form joint ventures and cooperate.

Asia-Pacific leaders call for trade deal 'as soon as possible'
Beijing (AFP) Nov 10, 2014 - US President Barack Obama and other Asia-Pacific leaders called Monday for a deal to be reached "as soon as possible" on a proposed free-trade agreement, which has added to China-US discord, at a regional summit in Beijing.

Obama and leaders from 11 other Pacific Rim countries including Japan, Canada, Australia and Mexico instructed negotiators to build on "significant progress" and push toward a conclusion of difficult talks on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free-trade idea.

"With the end coming into focus, we have instructed our ministers and negotiators to make concluding this agreement a top priority ... to reap the real and substantial benefits of the TPP agreement as soon as possible," a statement said.

The TPP countries met on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit hosted this year by Beijing.

Washington has for years pushed the TTP, which proposes a loosening of trade restrictions, but notably excludes the world's second-largest economy China.

But the talks have become bogged down amid resistance from some prospective members wary of opening up domestic markets, notably Japan.

Obama said he was "seeing momentum building", in remarks to reporters.

But a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity said: "This is not an agreement which is about to get signed. This will take a period of time to finish off some of the difficult issues."

China wants the 21-member APEC meeting to endorse a stronger commitment to the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) idea, a longer-term concept for the entire region that would build on the TPP and other free-trade initiatives.

US Trade Representative Michael Froman told reporters in Beijing on Sunday that FTAAP was a "long-term aspiration".

TPP, meanwhile, was "the major focus" of US economic policy toward the Asia-Pacific, he stressed.

Some Chinese analysts and state media have framed the TPP as an attempt to check Beijing's growing economic clout, allegations Washington dismisses.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who also is attending APEC, said in an interview last week that TPP was designed to benefit the United States.

He added that Russia and China's absence in the scheme "will not promote the establishment of effective trade and economic cooperation".

Facing Western sanctions over Russia's policies toward Ukraine, Putin has aggressively sought closer trade ties with China.