Talks for a free trade agreement between the United States and South Korea "are not going well," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Friday.

"The talks are not going well, and unless the negotiations show some signs of significant progress in the next few hours this agreement will most likely not come together," she told reporters Friday morning.

Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Karen Bhatia and South Korean Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong have been meeting at a Seoul hotel since Monday trying to reach the agreement.

The two countries aimed to finish a comprehensive trade agreement Friday -- the biggest such deal for South Korea and biggest since 1993 for the United States, reported The Wall Street Journal Friday.

They need to reach major compromises in areas such as automotive trade and investment protection, said the report, citing sources close to the discussions.

If successful, the agreement would be the largest free trade deal completed by the United States since the North American Free Trade Agreement of 1992.

But the two sides have to make a deal by the end of Friday in the United States, or early Saturday South Korea time, so that it can be submitted Monday.

As the Bush administration's Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), or special "fast track" authority, expires at the end of June, Monday will be the deadline to notify Congress in time for lawmakers to consider the U.S.-South Korea agreement without amendment.

The TPA transfers the power to broker trade deals from Congress to the executive branch. Once a deal is struck, Congress then votes on it in its entirety, without amendment.

Source: Xinhua