U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke says the United States will not give up efforts to conclude a free trade agreement with South Korea.

Appearing on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” Tuesday, Locke said he expects an exchange of very high-level government officials over the next several weeks to try and get the trade pact finalized.

He said the U.S. is still working on the trade deal and is very hopeful. However, he added that the U.S. can't just accept any deal for the sake of a deal.

He said the U.S. wants to make sure that there's really true access for American companies so that American-made goods and services can be sold to other countries and jobs are created in the U.S.