South Korea and the United States will kick off negotiations to amend their bilateral free trade agreement(FTA) next week.

South Korea's Trade Ministry said Thursday that the FTA renegotiation talks will officially start next Friday in Washington. 

The ministry said in a statement that in the upcoming negotiations, the government plans to include its demands with the aim of enhancing mutual reciprocity and achieving a balance of interests.
 
Yoo Myung-hee, director-general of the ministry's trade policy bureau, will lead the South Korean delegation, while the U.S. will be represented by Assistant Trade Representative Michael Beeman. 

U.S. President Donald Trump has been calling for a renegotiation of the five-year-old deal, which he blames for U.S. trade imbalances with South Korea.