SEOUL, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- South Korea Wednesday protested alleged comments by U.S. officials implying Seoul planted bone fragments in U.S. beef shipments so it could refuse them.
"Through diplomatic channels, we've protested to the U.S. government over the (groundless) speculations," chief South Korean trade negotiator Kim Jong-hoon told reporters.
An agricultural news report said U.S. beef officials "intimated South Korea may have planted the bone chips as an excuse to keep American beef out of the South Korean market."
The Australian Broadcasting Corp. later quoted U.S. Agriculture Deputy Undersecretary Chuck Lambert as requesting the bone chips be returned for possible "DNA sampling or other means of trying to determine (their) origin."
Washington had no immediate comment on the allegations.
Seoul stopped importing U.S. beef in 2003 after a cow with mad cow disease was found in the United States. Imports began again under strict regulations in November, but South Korean inspectors have turned back all shipments so far because they say they have found tiny bone fragments in the beef.
