SEOUL, March 7: US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and South Korean Finance and Economy Minister Kwon O-Kyu agreed on Wednesday to try to wrap up free trade negotiations smoothly and quickly, officials said.

A new round of talks, the eighth since negotiations began in June last year, opens in Seoul on Thursday. The deadline for agreement is late this month.

Paulson, who arrived late Tuesday as part of an Asian tour, met Kwon to discuss economic issues, including the proposed free trade agreement (FTA).

"It is so important for the future of the two economies to strike a South Korean-US FTA deal that both governments agreed to actively cooperate to reach a smooth and early agreement," the South Korean finance ministry said in a statement after the meeting.

US negotiators must submit the deal to Congress by April 2 for a 90-day review before President George W. Bush's "fast-track" trade promotion authority expires on July 1 but both sides have yet to overcome major sticking points.

Seoul said on Monday it remains adamant in its demand that rice be excluded from the talks. Farmers and civic groups violently oppose the opening of this market.

South Korean negotiators have warned that any US demand to open the rice market would be "a deal-breaker" in the negotiations.

The foreign ministry on Sunday also expressed regret over the terms of a demand by some US lawmakers for the opening of the Korean car market.

Last year 800,000 South Korean vehicles were sold in the US while only around 3,000 US cars were sold in South Korea.

Other differences yet to be resolved also include anti-dumping remedies and Seoul's tariff and non-tariff barriers in the pharmaceutical sector, which Washington says discriminate against its exports.

The deal, if agreed, would be the biggest since the 1993 North American Free Trade Agreement linking the US, Canada and Mexico.—AFP