South Korea will likely seek to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by some 40 percent of 2018 levels by 2030.

Kim Young-hoon, a senior official of the Environment Ministry, said in a policy report to the parliament on Tuesday that the government is reviewing a 40 percent reduction target. 

It is higher than an initial target of 35 percent. Under the green growth basic act that passed the National Assembly in August, the government had pledged to set the country's nationally determined contributions(NDC) at 35 percent or more from 2018 levels. 

The official said various factors are under consideration in determining the target, such as related situations at home and abroad and a sector-by-sector analysis on how much emission can be cut. 

The Environment Ministry plans to confirm the 2030 NDC figure by the year-end as well as scenarios to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.