By Jack Kim

SEOUL, June 22 (Reuters) - The United States pressed South Korea to add new labour and environmental provisions into a trade deal reached earlier this year but still expects it to be signed at the end of the month as planned, an official said on Friday.

U.S. trade negotiators finished two days of talks in Seoul in order to try and sway South Korean officials to accept the new provisions in order to help the U.S. Congress approve what would be the biggest U.S. trade deal in 15 years.

Wendy Cutler, the chief U.S. negotiator, told a news conference in Seoul the provisions sought by the United States would in "no way alter the balance we achieved with the FTA (free trade agreement)."

Washington seeks to strengthen the enforcement of global labour and environment standards and put in place strict retaliatory measures if they are breached.

"We need to review the extent of the labour and environment protection provisions," South Korea's chief negotiator, Kim Jong-hoon, told reporters after the meeting.

The pact reached in April after 10 months of negotiations has faced stiff opposition from South Korean farmers fearful of losing heavy government protection and U.S. automakers fearful it will unleash a new wave of Korean exports.

Cutler said the two sides should be able to incorporate any revisions into the text by the planned June 30 signing date. Kim said South Korea sees no need to rush to make the changes and the signing would go ahead as scheduled with or without them.

U.S. negotiators have also been seeking to revisit chapters on intellectual property rights on pharmaceuticals, government procurement, investment and port security, but have not asked to review the most heated sectors of automobiles and agriculture.

U.S. Congressional Democrats reached an agreement with the White House in May paving the way for approval of the Republican Bush administration's free trade deals if enforceable labour and environmental provisions were added.

The deal is expected to boost South Korea's economy as much as 6 percent over the next 10 years and create 340,000 jobs, government-affiliated think tanks say.

Critics in South Korea concede its parliament is likely to approve the pact and have called on measures to aid farmers and others who will be hurt by the trade deal.

(With additional reporting by Jessica Kim)

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