WASHINGTON : The US beef industry Friday offered to meet South Korean concerns over the safety of US beef imports by limiting them "as a transitional measure" amid a simmering trade row.

Three associations representing the US beef industry -- the US Meat Export Federation, the American Meat Institute and the National Meat Association -- said in a statement that they were responding to a request from the Korea Import Beef Association.

The announcement came a day after intensive trade negotiations over US beef imports appeared close to an agreement on extra health safeguards.

The South Korean government's agreement with the United States to resume imports of US beef, which had been suspended because of mad-cow disease concerns, has sparked weeks of massive protests in Seoul.

According to the US beef groups, the Korea Import Beef Association declared that while the importers believed "that US beef from cattle of 30 months of age and over is safe, as a transitional measure in response to current market conditions, they will only import US beef from cattle less than 30 months."

The Korean association also requested that US beef exporters ask the US government to verify that US beef exported to South Korea meets this request by the importers, the US groups said.

"To this end, and to meet the desires of our Korean customers, the three associations representing the US beef industry today delivered a letter to the Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer and US Trade Representative (USTR) Susan Schwab," they said.

In the letter, the US beef industry acknowledged the safety concerns in South Korea about US beef from cattle 30 months of age and older "and that these views are having an impact on perceptions of US beef in the Korean market."

"While the US beef industry is confident that all beef produced in the United States is safe regardless of age, at the request of Korean meat importers to address consumer concerns, the US beef industry is prepared to limit exports to Korea to only products from cattle less than 30 months of age under a program verified by USDA (US Department of Agriculture) as a transitional measure to full market opening consistent with OIE guidelines."

The OIE, the historical French acronym for the Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health, deemed US beef safe for global trade in May 2007.

The industry asked the US government to establish an age-verification quality system assessment program for South Korea "that will be in place until the conditions in the Korea market support the restoration of exports of all US beef products to Korea."

The USTR office was not immediately available for comment. A USDA spokeswoman, Janice Tolley, told AFP: "We are directing all media inquiries to the USTR."

South Korea's President Lee Myung-Bak, eager to clear the way for a wider US-South Korean free trade deal, agreed in April to lift most restrictions on US beef imports. These were suspended in 2003 after a mad-cow disease case in the US.

The deal, and the hasty way it was reached, sparked a political crisis.

Tens of thousands of protesters began a month of rallies fuelled by fears of mad-cow disease and other grievances against the government.

The pact to resume imports has not yet gone into force because of the protests, even though both governments say the meat is totally safe.

"We have made good progress this week and are close to reaching a mutually agreeable path forward," USTR spokeswoman Gretchen Hamel said late Thursday.

In Seoul, the foreign ministry said "considerable progress was made and both sides neared mutually satisfactory results."

The Seoul government will announce the outcome Saturday after being briefed by its chief negotiator, Trade Minister Kim Jong-Hoon.

Lee vowed Thursday to secure US government guarantees of a ban on exports of older cattle which are seen as potentially more at risk of disease.

- AFP /ls