South Korea and six Gulf states have agreed to forge a free trade deal by the end of next year, a chief negotiator from the Seoul side said.

"At today's opening session, the chief delegates from both sides agreed in principle to conclude negotiation by the end of next year," deputy trade minister Lee Hye-Min said.

He was speaking at the start of a two-day meeting with the GCC to forge a free trade agreement.

"We aim to forge the deal early as there are not many sensitive issues between the two sides," Lee said.

His office said that the proposed deal would help South Korea secure a stable supply of energy.

South Korea bought $53.5 billion worth of energy resources from the six nations last year, accounting for 72 per cent of its total energy imports.

Last year two-way trade reached $66.1 billion. The GCC nations are also a key market for South Korean builders who received construction orders totalling $14.4 billion last year.

South Korea has already forged free trade pacts with Chile, Singapore and the European Free Trade Associ-ation comprising Switzerland, Norway and Ireland.