South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Chinese President Xi Jinping held "substantive negotiations" on Monday and jointly announced the "conclusion" of free trade talks between the two nations, China's commerce ministry said. 

The one-sentence announcement by the Chinese ministry came shortly after a South Korean official said the two nations "virtually" reached a landmark free trade agreement. 

"Xi Jinping and Korean President Park Geun-hye held substantive negotiations and jointly announced the conclusion of the free trade talks," the Chinese ministry said in a statement. 

Park and Xi plan to observe the signing of a free trade deal after their summit Monday in Beijing, the South Korean official said on the condition of anonymity. 

South Korea and China started their formal free trade negotiations in May 2012, and Park and Xi agreed to work together to achieve an agreement by the end of the year during their summit in early July. (Yonhap)