Seoul, April 13 (QNA) - South Korean Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol said Monday that South Korea aims to expand its free trade agreement (FTA) network with emerging markets, such as Latin America and Africa, in its latest effort to diversify supply chains.

"Rather than simply responding to trade issues, the government will expand its FTA network to support export growth," Yonhap News Agency quoted the finance minister as saying.

He noted that the global trade environment is undergoing a structural change due to the weakening of multilateral trade norms and increasing competition among major countries.

In response, the government sees a need to continuously expand and strategically upgrade its FTA network.

"In the future, we will broaden our FTA map to emerging markets, such as Southeast Asia, Latin America and Africa, to diversify global supply chains," he said.

South Korea has signed 21 free trade deals covering 59 countries, the finance ministry said. (QNA)