South Korea expressed regrets Wednesday over repeated demands from the United States to open up South Korea's heavily protected rice market in free trade talks.

"I regret the U.S. side's repeated demands for rice discussions," said Ambassador Kim Jong-hoon, Seoul's top negotiator in free trade talks with Washington, responding to an earlier remark by his U.S. counterpart Wendy Cutler that rice "would be discussed at some point."

"The xclusion of rice from FTA talks with the U.S. is our government's promise to the people," Kim told reporters, ending a third day of talks, the sixth since last June.

Kim emphasized there was no room for the two sides to discuss rice, reiterating the South Korean government's stance that rice should be excluded from the proposed free trade deal.