South Korea and a group of six Central American countries, including Guatemala and Panama, have declared the official launch of their negotiations for a free trade agreement, the Seoul government said Friday.

The declaration came at the end of a meeting between South Korean Trade Minister Yoon Sang-jick and his counterparts from the six nations held in Houston, the United States, on Thursday (U.S. time), according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

"The Ministers shared the view that the FTA should be consistent with the rules of the World Trade Organization and agreed to pursue a high-level and comprehensive FTA including trade in goods, trade in services, investment, economic cooperation, and other areas of mutual interest," they said in a joint statement released here by the South Korean ministry.

The six countries include El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica that together with the other two form a regional economic bloc known as SIECA, short for Secretaria de Integracion Economica Centroamericana.

Together, the six countries make up the fifth-largest market in Central and South America, in terms of their combined gross domestic product, while their combined population of 43.5 million is the third-largest in the region, making them a promising market with great potential, the ministry said in a press release.

The first round of FTA negotiations could be held as early as next month in El Salvador, where SIECA is headquartered, a ministry official said, asking not to be identified.

"Trade volume South Korea and the six Central American countries nearly doubled over the past 10 years while their economic cooperative relations have steadily developed with some 200 South Korean firms currently investing or operating in those countries, creating some 150,000 jobs," the ministry said.

The proposed FTA with South Korea, if signed, will be the countries' first free trade pact with an Asian state.

"Although the volume of bilateral trade is not too great right now, an FTA will benefit both sides as they have complementary industrial structures with South Korea's key export items including automobiles, electronics and textiles while those of Central America include coffee, tropical fruits and metals," the ministry added.

In 2014, trade between South Korea and the six countries reached US$5 billion. (Yonhap)