LONDON, April 3 (Reuters) - Talks on a major but stalled free trade deal between South Korea and the United States may not get underway until the latter half of this year, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said on Friday.
The two sides agreed on a pact early last year but final acceptance has been held back as the U.S. Congress demands more access, in particular to the South Korean auto market. Seoul is refusing to renegotiate.
"(The agreement) will immeasurably strengthen the South Korea- U.S. alliance," Lee told a small group of reporters in London where he attended the G20 summit.
"I'm very hopeful that by (the) latter half of the year (we) will have the opportunity to engage extensively in discussions."
He said it would take a few months for the new U.S. government of President Barack Obama to be ready for the talks.
The two leaders discussed the issue in London on Thursday, when Obama invited Lee to visit Washington in June.
A U.S. official said after those talks that progress on the pact would take time.
The auto issue has become increasingly sensitive because of the massive U.S. government aid going to the country's struggling car makers.
Autos have also become a stumbling block to a similar trade deal with the European Union, with its car industry worried about the import of more South Korean cars. The two failed to cement a final deal on the sidelines of this week's G20 summit.
U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, at his confirmation hearing in March, said Washington was prepared to walk away from its deal with South Korea if Seoul did not agree to renegotiate. (Reporting by Sean Maguire and Jonathan Thatcher; Editing by Jerry Norton)