South Korea and France have begun working level talks on the return of ancient Korean books to Seoul.

President Lee Myung-bak and French President Nicolas Sarkozy agreed to the return of the royal documents during the Group of 20 Seoul Summit last month.

The South Korean ambassador to Paris says that working-level talks kicked off over the weekend and that officials are discussing how to transfer the books to Seoul.

An embassy official says that opposition to the books' return was expected in France and that tension is rising as almost 500 librarians at the National Library of France have so far joined a protest campaign.

The official said the current ongoing talks will wrap discussions on the administrative aspects of the books' transfer. The remaining technical details, such as the books' wrapping and storage, is expected to be discussed during the second round of talks between the Korean and French national libraries.