SEOUL, May 2 (UPI) -- Canada is seeking to follow in U.S. footsteps by clinching a free-trade deal with South Korea and resuming shipments of its beef to the giant market.
In a news conference in Seoul Wednesday, Canadian Foreign Minister Peter MacKay said his country wanted to reach a free-trade agreement with South Korea in the near future but cited the resumption of its beef exports as a main condition.
Canada "hopes to see a successful resolution in the very near future to the ban on Canadian beef," he said.
South Korea has banned Canadian beef imports since May 2003 after a case of mad cow disease was reported in the North American country.
Seoul resumed imports of U.S. beef after the two countries reached a free-trade deal last month.
MacKay toured the truce village Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas before leaving for Canada after a two-day trip to South Korea.
