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Seoul rules out renegotiation of U.S. beef deal
SEOUL, June 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korea is not considering renegotiating a deal that widens the local beef market to U.S. imports, a top trade official said Wednesday, despite a public uproar over the safety of beef from older cattle.
In April, Seoul agreed to resume U.S. beef imports, which had been halted in 2003 after a case of mad cow disease was discovered in the U.S. But since early last month, thousands of citizens have taken to the streets calling for renegotiation of the deal.
On Tuesday, the month-long rallies culminated with at least 80,000 demonstrators gathering in central Seoul, opposing the resumption of US beef imports and calling for President Lee Myung-bak's resignation.
Pressured by public calls, the government last week declared it will indefinitely delay putting the April deal into effect until Washington or U.S. exporters agree to refrain from exporting beef from cows aged 30 months or older.
But Seoul rejected calls for a complete renegotiation of the accord, citing possible diplomatic and trade disputes with the U.S. The U.S. has yet to respond formally to the South Korean request.
"Additional discussions or talks are meant to clarify an earlier deal," Ahn Ho-young, deputy minister for trade, told reporters. "It will be possible for both sides to take additional measures to ensure the implementation of the earlier agreement."
Earlier this week, Seoul dispatched a delegation to Washington to seek assurances that the U.S. will not ship beef from cattle older than 30 months, even though that is allowed under the agreement.
"At present, it is the best to curb imports of cattle older than 30 months for the health of citizens," Ahn said. "We are reviewing a variety of measures to that end."
sam@yna.co.kr
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