SEOUL, Jan. 16 (UPI) -- Thousands of anti-globalization activists staged a rally in Seoul Tuesday to protest against free trade talks between South Korea and the United States.
About 4,000 farmers, labor unionists and activists took to the streets in central Seoul, chanting anti-FTA slogans and calling for the government to stop negotiations.
"Stop FTA negotiations," "No FTA," they shouted in the rally organized by the Korean Alliance against the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement.
The government has deployed more than 15,000 riot police to thwart protests, but there were no major clashes, according to police officials.
Nine lawmakers from the country's leftist opposition Democratic Labor Party have launched a five-day hunger strike since Monday to oppose a free trade deal with the United States, saying the opening of local markets would destroy local industries and wipe out livelihoods.
Delegates from South Korea and the United States met at a Seoul hotel Tuesday for second day of negotiations aimed at tearing down trade barriers between the two countries.
During talks that end Friday, the two sides would look to bridge contentious gaps in disputed sectors, such as U.S. anti-dumping and countervailing rules, and opening of South Korea's auto, drug and beef markets.
