S Korea tells trade deal activists not to go to US

SEOUL, May 19 (Reuters) South Korea has warned anti-free trade activists, who have previously staged violent rallies, not to travel to the United States next month when Seoul and Washington launch talks on a bilateral trade deal.

In December, Hong Kong arrested nearly 1,000 protesters during a World Trade Organisation meeting, most of them South Korean farmers and unionists, after violent demonstrations that often overshadowed the negotiations.

Charges against all of them were later dropped for insufficient evidence.

South Korean activists have a reputation for unruly protests and frequently clash with police over issues ranging from labour disputes to the opening of the rice market.

An alliance of anti-free trade activists said they were planning to travel to the United States in early June with a ''significant'' contingent.

''Anyone can freely express their opinions on the South orea-US free trade agreement, but it will not solve any problems to go all the way to the negotiating partner's country and demonstrate there,'' Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon said.

He said in a statement today there was a limit to what the government could do if protesters broke US laws.

The message was given as the two countries, which had two-way trade of more than 72.5 billion dollars in 2004, are due to exchange today first drafts of their negotiating positions ahead of the first formal round of talks in Washington on June 5.

Seoul said this week it would seek to exclude some farm products from market opening or delay tariff reductions to minimise the pain felt by farmers.

It also wants to ensure tariff benefits for products made in Kaesong, a North Korean town just across the border where South Korean firms produce goods using cheap North Korean labour.

South Korean farmers say a US free-trade pact will destroy their livelihoods and want a compensation package before talks begin.

REUTERS SHB RN1552