SEOUL, Dec 3 (Reuters) - South Korea's trade minister said some progress has been made in talks with the United States on a free trade deal that has been held up for three years by differences over beef and autos, Yonhap News Agency reported.
"(We) also agreed to meet tomorrow," Kim Jong-hoon told reporters after finishing the late-evening session on a third straight day of talks in the United States.
Kim also cited the possibility that the talks would be extended again if they fail to strike a deal, according to Yonhap.
Autos and beef are the top issues that U.S. and Korean officials are striving to iron out in negotiations in Columbia, Maryland.
However, Kim implied that the talks were focused on autos.
"Beef was not discussed," the Yonhap quoted Kim as saying.
The two countries signed a free trade agreement on June 30, 2007 but it has been stalled in the U.S. Congress because of opposition from the U.S. auto industry. South Korean barriers to U.S. beef have also delayed action.
The United States is asking South Korea to renegotiate the auto terms of the agreement, something that is politically difficult for Seoul with concessions in return.
The United States exported 7,663 cars and light trucks to South Korea in 2009, while it imported 476,857 vehicles in return, according to U.S. Commerce Department figures.
Ford Motor Co. and its supporters in Congress complain the lopsided trade is due to South Korean tax and regulatory barriers the free trade deal fails to adequately address. (Reporting by Ju-min Park; Editing by Alex Richardson)