South Korea's top trade envoy said on Friday his U.S. counterpart signaled a willingness to reach a deal over tariffs and that Seoul will negotiate in the best interests of the country despite a looming election, local broadcaster KBS reported.

Cheong In-kyo, minister for trade, on his arrival from Washington, D.C. where he met U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer earlier this week, told reporters that Greer showed a willing to reach deals with South Korea and Japan over tariff negotiations, according to the report.

Cheong said it is trade authorities' duty to conclude negotiations if they think they can achieve the best outcome for the country with least concessions, when asked about how the upcoming presidential election on June 3 would affect negotiations.

(Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Sharon Singleton)