US-Korean trade deal 'vital'

The US and South Korea “cannot afford to fail” in talks meant to settle differences on a long-stalled free trade deal, America’s top diplomat in Asia said.

The comments by assistant secretary of state Kurt Campbell come as US and Korean officials scramble to reach a compromise before a meeting on November 11 and 12 between President Barack Obama and South Korean president Lee Myung-bak at the G-20 economic summit in Seoul.

The Obama administration’s focus on the Korean deal and its pursuit of the so-called Trans-Pacific Partnership, a small regional trade deal seen as a precursor to a broader Asia-Pacific agreement, are attempts to counter Asian worries about rising American protectionism.