S. Korea Opens Back Up To U.S. Beef

Agreement After Mad Cow Scare Indicative Of Changing Mood Between Seoul, Washington

(CBS/AP)  South Korea says it has agreed to resume U.S. beef imports that had been halted over concerns about mad cow disease.

The agreement came just hours before leaders of the two countries were to meet in Washington. The beef issue had been a key dispute between the allies, and had threatened prospects of approval of a wider free-trade agreement.

The South Korean Agriculture Ministry said Friday that Seoul would allow American beef imports from cattle younger than 30 months, including cuts with bones. Younger cows are believed to be less at risk for mad cow disease.

South Korea will allow beef from older cattle after the U.S. strengthens controls on feed to reduce chances of infection.

The reported breakthrough came as new South Korean President Lee Myung-bak prepared to start his first summit with U.S. President Bush on Friday in the United States.

Yonhap said Seoul has agreed to relax quarantine regulations to allow imports of rib bones and beef of all ages. It was not clear if Seoul would allow imports of other previously banned parts, such as spinal columns, skulls and intestinal parts believed at risk of carrying the brain-wasting disease that may pose a danger to humans.

The American Chamber of Commerce in Korea said in a statement that South Korea had agreed to allow beef of all ages and all cuts.

"The previous Korean government had promised to open the beef market over and over again for over two years, but did not keep their promise," chamber Chairman William Oberlin, who was accompanying Lee in the U.S., said in the statement. "However, President Lee, who has only been in power for less than two months, made this possible."

The U.S. has demanded Seoul fully open its beef market, saying it is needed for congressional leaders in Washington to back a free-trade accord that the two countries signed last year. Washington has also argued that American beef has been certified as safe by the Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health.

South Korea suspended U.S. beef imports in 2003 after mad cow disease was discovered in the U.S, cutting off what was then the third-largest market for American beef.

Restricted imports resumed last April, but have been on hold since October when a shipment contained animal parts that have been banned over mad cow concerns.

Closer Ties To Seoul:

Oberlin's praise was indicative of the mood of hope in both capitals about increasing cooperation between the countries.

After years of uneasy relations with South Korean leaders whom the White House considered soft on North Korea, President Bush will warmly welcome on Friday a South Korean counterpart who talks tough about the North.

Mr. Bush and Lee will be eager to signal a new, cooperative tone as they push a reluctant Congress to ratify an ambitious free trade deal, work to settle a spat over South Korea's ban of American beef and discuss ways to persuade North Korea to fulfill commitments in six-nation nuclear negotiations.

The Washington Post reported Friday that Lee will propose creating a permanent high-level diplomatic channel between the North and South, including establishing the first liaison offices in the nations' capitals after nearly six decades of division.

Lee embraced the recent U.S. proposal to have North Korea "acknowledge" U.S. concerns and evidence about its apparent efforts to enrich uranium and its suspected nuclear trading with Syria, rather than provide its own dossier on such activities, the Post said.

Lee said the solution would offer North Korea "an indirect way to being involved in these two activities," therefore allowing the stalled negotiations to move forward.

With only nine months left in Mr. Bush's presidency, and with the nuclear talks at an impasse, it may be too late for the leaders to settle a top foreign policy goal for the Bush administration: a deal to rid North Korea of its atomic bombs.

Lee, seen at left shaking hands with the U.S. ambassador in December 2007, is a former construction chief executive nicknamed "The Bulldozer" for his determination to get things done.

He has ended a decade of liberal rule in which South Korea sought to embrace the North and refrained from criticism. The relief in Washington has been evident in the Bush administration's praise of Lee's insistence that the North follow through on nuclear pledges before receiving aid from its southern neighbor and rival.

Now, however, Lee's position on North Korea may turn out to be even tougher than Mr. Bush's as the United States presses hard for an agreement.

The highlight of Lee's Washington visit will come when he is feted at the Camp David presidential retreat in mountains north of the capital. Jack Pritchard, the State Department's special envoy for North Korea negotiations until 2003, said at a recent conference that the Camp David invitation is an "extraordinary symbolic gesture and a guarantee of success of the summit, even if they just showed up and shook hands."

Several other signs also point to the leaders hitting it off. Bruce Klingner, a Northeast Asia analyst at the Heritage Foundation, said in an interview that both men are former businessmen with conservative free-market ideas; both are Christian; both say they want to hold the North accountable to its nuclear pledges; and both view the U.S.-South Korean relationship as crucial to Asian security.

By contrast, Mr. Bush's meetings with Lee's predecessor, Roh Moo-hyun, who was elected on an anti-America platform, were often notable for their awkwardness, fueling the perception that the leaders did not like each other. Roh favored a so-called "sunshine" policy that provided aid without demanding concessions from North Korea.

[lewiston14]

How about keeping US beef in america so I dont have to dream about a $25 steak. We would have plenty of less expensive food if we stop selling every *** think we make to other countries

[lewiston14]

The 3 *** = Every D-A-M-N thing we make

[element51]

lewiston14....I agree. But don''t you know that the only way you can get those good steaks is to get food stamps. The other day I was in the check-out line and the woman ahead of me bought 9 lobster tails and paid for them with food stamps. Then she paid cash for a 40 dollar bottle of wine. I then paid cash for my pack of hamburger. I felt like a dofus. Seems like there should be some way to help feed people who are in need but keep a little common sense too.

[lewiston14]

Lobster 19.95 a pound for live ones. Thats like 2 oz of meat. You know what I had tonight a couple of toasted cheese and water. Keep sending all out stuff to these third worlds. Im sure they are not paying what we do. $1 for a cheap can of soup, $2 for lettuce I guess e coli is extra. $1 for a single cucumber. Melons for $10 or a big orange for $1.69 each.

[lewiston14]

New tv show. How to eat healthy on $200 a day

[hlasny]

You wrote that the South Korea will allow U.S. beef imports%u2026 YES, very good; in this way, ten months ago (June 23, 2007) I supported senator Nelson call about the disagreement with South Korea''s restrictions on bone-in beef (Big News Network, Malaysia Sun, Calcutta News%u2026). I described an alternative "BSE ammonia-magnesium" theory. This theory is based on the chronic Mg-deficiency- potentiated by hyperammonemia (high protein intake?). These mechanisms have a strong influence on CNS, especially in ruminants and carnivora animals; see website (www.bse-expert.cz).
Professor Brown, lecturer and researcher at the University of Bath, is another dissident scientist who believes the entire BSE/CJD link must be completely reconsidered. His research team recently found that elevated manganese (Mn) was associated with prion infection. However, these findings about "BSE; manganese theory"act in concert with my "BSE; ammonia- magnesium theory". So, I will perform some interpretations in my website with conclusion; why some central nervous system regions showed elevated Mn, other regions did not? and why the most consistent finding was an elevation of Mn in blood? However, in the first place, this will be published- presented at the 29th World Veterinary Congres (Vancouver, July 27-31, 2008), see article; Neurodegenerative Diseases and Schizophrenia as a Hyper or Hypofunction of the NMDA Receptors.