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By Son Key-young Staff Reporter

Korea and the United States yesterday opened a seven-day plenary session aimed at the revision of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), but the prospects for the talks are gloomy because of sharp differences over major issues, a Foreign Affairs-Trade Ministry official said.

``After holding two-day expert-level talks, we found the gap of opinions between the two countries wider than expected,'' he said. ``I expect tough negotiations ahead,'' he added.

During the separate meetings of working-level officials, the two sides discussed a wide range of issues, including criminal jurisdiction, the environment, quarantines, facilities and labor affairs.

Commenting on the atmosphere of the two-day working-level discussions, the foreign ministry official said that some U.S. positions were so unacceptable to the Korean side that a few officials from other Korean government ministries even tried to walk out of the talks.

The official didn't rule out the possibility that the SOFA talks could rupture completely if the U.S. side fails to show any change in its positions on some issues.

For example, there is a big discrepancy over how to prepare regulations regarding the protection of the environment by U.S. military bases. Seoul is seeking to include the regulations in the bilateral agreement governing the administrative affairs of 37,000 U.S. troops stationed here, while Washington opted for the creation of a separate agreement on the environment.

At the plenary sessions underway at a conference hall of the Central Government Complex, Song Min-soon, director general of the Foreign Affairs- Trade Ministry's North American Affairs Bureau, led the Korean delegation, which is comprised of officials from the Justice, Defense, Environment, Agriculture-Forestry, Labor and Finance-Economy Ministries.

The U.S. team, including officials from the State Department and Defense Department, is headed by Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Frederick Smith.

With regard to the criminal jurisdiction issue, the two sides already worked out a joint draft, although there are still several issues to be resolved. ``During this round of talks, we will endeavor to narrow the remaining differences,'' he said.

As for the so-called ``Track II'' issues, like the environment and labor, the two countries are striving to create a joint draft agreement on the basis of their past negotiations.

Seoul's primary goal is to revise the agreement by reflecting Korea's changed international status and the results of earlier revisions, made bilaterally between the United States and other countries where U.S. troops are stationed.

This round of intensive nine-day talks could be regarded as a last-ditch effort to narrow their differences over the revision of the agreement, which has been one of the constant sources of troubles between the two allies.

At present, the two countries are seeking to conclude negotiations before U.S. President Bill Clinton's term expires in January.

Following a two-day meeting at the Central Government Complex in downtown Seoul, the negotiators will move on Monday to a conference hall of the Korean Council on Foreign Relations in southern Seoul for more in-depth exchanges of views.