The U.S. negotiator for a free trade agreement (FTA) with South Korea expressed her optimism over the negotiations here on Monday amid protests by several hundred people outside a hotel holding the FTA talks.

"I remain optimistic about our prospects for our success for a Korea-U.S. FTA," U.S. Assistant Trade Representative Wendy Cutler told reporters at a briefing in Seoul.

Cutler added that she felt optimistic as South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun expressed strong support for such a deal with the United States and Seoul made previous concessions to start the talks.

The South Korean government has already granted the United States four key concessions early this year, including a 50 percent cut in its quota for screening homegrown movies in local cinemas and a lift of the ban against U.S. beef imports.

The second round of FTA talks between Washington and Seoul was launched on Monday and was set to end on Thursday. The two sides held the first round of the talks in Washington in early June but failed to reached a final pact.

South Korean protesters staged demonstrations outside the Shilla Hotel where the FTA talks were being held and clashed briefly with riot police on Monday.

An estimated number of 100,000 people are expected to hold massive protest in Seoul against the FTA with the United States during this week as more than 150 civic activist groups have declared a joint demonstration earlier.

Source: Xinhua