SEOUL, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- South Korea agreed Friday to resume imports of American beef, ending a two-year ban prompted by fears of mad cow disease.
Under the agreement, South Korea will resume imports of U.S. meat from calves under 30 months beginning in March, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry said in a statement.
But South Korea will extend its ban on the import of cattle bones, ribs and processed beef products such as sausages, saying they pose a health risk.
Beef ribs accounted for around 57 percent of beef imports from the United States when it was allowed to ship beef to South Korea, making it a key export item.
"Beef from only designated U.S. slaughterhouses could be shipped to South Korea and any sign of mad cow disease would bring all the U.S. beef imports to a halt," a ministry spokesman said.
South Korea, previously the No. 3 export market for U.S. beef, has a ban on American beef imports imposed at the end of 2003 after a case of mad cow disease was found in the country.
The United States had been pressuring Seoul to resume importing its beef, as concern grows that it may lose its major importer.
Meanwhile, thousands of Korean cattle farmers staged a protest in central South Korea to oppose the resumption of U.S. beef imports.
