Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng said on Tuesday that China and South Korea will officially sign a bilateral free trade agreement in the first half of this year.

The pact, currently written in English, is being translated into Chinese. Gao said the document will first be reviewed by the National People's Congress and released to the public after receiving legislative approval.

China and South Korea initialed the bilateral free trade agreement at the end of last month.

Negotiations on the China-South Korea FTA were concluded last November, after both sides started the FTA talks in May 2012.