SEOUL - South Korea and the United States are set to hold two-day trade talks later this week, the foreign ministry said Tuesday.

During the annual talks opening Wednesday in Seoul, trade officials are expected to discuss trade remedies including antidumping, protection of intellectual property rights, technical barriers to trade (TBT) and sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures, according to the ministry.

Launched in 2001, the talks have been held in Seoul and Washington by turns to discuss impending trade issues between the two countries.

Reports say trade officials are not planning to discuss ratification of the long-pending two-way free trade agreement between Seoul and Washington. The trade deal, signed in 2007 and supplemented last year, awaits legislative approval in both countries.

The trade agreement is widely expected to be endorsed prior to South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's scheduled visit to the US next month.