US, S Korea start free trade renegotiations

---

SEOUL, June 21 (AFP): US and South Korean officials today started renegotiating parts of a hard-won free trade agreement to reflect Washington's new commerce guidelines, amid criticism in both countries of the original pact.
Assistant US Trade Representative Wendy Cutler headed a delegation to two-day talks with her South Korean counterpart Kim Jong-Hoon.
The deal was reached on April 2 after 10 months of tough negotiations. But Seoul accepted the US request for renegotiations to reflect the guidelines.
Washington wants changes after Congress and the White House agreed in May on a bipartisan accord that sets labour and environmental standards for such agreements.
Upon arrival Wednesday, Cutler told reporters this week's negotiations would not alter the balance both sides achieved in the previous round. She said she was looking forward to a "productive negotiation."
The pact, the biggest for the US since the 1993 North America Free Trade Agreement, is expected to be signed on June 30 before US President George W Bush's "fast-track" trade promotion authority expires.
It also needs ratification by the legislatures of both countries, whose two-way trade reached 74 billion dollars in 2006.
South Korean Foreign Minister Song Min-Soon said Thursday that Seoul would not accept any revisions that could hurt its interests.
"The deal reflected balanced interests of both nations. We have a firm position that our interests should be protected under any circumstances," he told reporters.
The agreement has left many local workers and farmers fearing for their jobs. But it is supported by a majority of South Koreans, according to opinion polls.
About 8,000 farmers rallied in Seoul Wednesday, demanding their government rip up the deal. And workers led by the 40,000-strong union at Hyundai Motor plan a five-day walkout starting next Monday in protest at the deal.
The government vowed to take stern measures against "illegal political action" by workers.