The South Korean government on Thursday strongly denied a foreign news report that it has formally asked to join a U.S.-led regional free trade pact, saying the country has not yet decided whether to take part in the multilateral trade deal.

The reaction came shortly after the Washington Post, quoting an unidentified Korean official, reported that Seoul has officially clamored to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership, but that Washington told it to wait until the deal is agreed upon.

"The government will make its decision on whether to join the TPP through procedures provided in the law that include public hearings, and after it thoroughly reviews the impact the deal will have on our economy," South Korea's trade ministry said in a press release.

"The country's participation in the TPP is not an issue the government can unilaterally decide to ask the U.S. (for acceptance)," it said.

South Korea and the United States have held three rounds of what Seoul has called "preliminary talks" on Seoul's participation in the TPP since Seoul expressed its interest in joining the trade deal in late 2013.

Seoul officials earlier said that the U.S. has consistently welcomed Seoul's participation in the three previous rounds of bilateral talks that were designed to show South Korea what to expect should it decide to join the multilateral trade deal.

South Korea already has a bilateral free trade agreement with the U.S. and many of the 11 other countries currently taking part in ongoing negotiations for the TPP. They are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. (Yonhap)