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SEOUL: Talks in Washington between US and South Korean negotiators on the resumption of US beef imports have ended without agreement, the foreign ministry in Seoul said on Monday.
Trade Minister Kim Jong-Hoon, who had hoped to negotiate extra safeguards against the perceived risk of mad cow disease, left for home on Sunday Washington time, the ministry said in a statement.
The two sides had originally been scheduled to have more talks on Monday.
Tens of thousands of Koreans who say the meat carries a risk of mad cow disease have staged street protests for the past month against a deal to resume the imports, sparking a political crisis for the Seoul government.
The import deal reached in April has not yet gone into force.
Kim met US Trade Representative Susan Schwab on Friday and Saturday to try to secure official US backing for Seoul's decision to exclude meat from older cows, seen as being potentially more prone to disease.
This safeguard was not part of the original pact.
"Both sides agreed to cooperate to produce a mutually satisfactory resolution," the foreign ministry statement said.
"Both sides noted that it would take more time to verify technical details aimed at establishing an effective way to import beef (only) from cows less than 30 months old."
The statement said the two sides "agreed to continue talks from now on through diplomatic channels".
The beef issue has become a major problem for President Lee Myung-Bak's administration, less than four months after he took office. He is also grappling with the effects of a separate truckers' strike in protest at rising fuel prices.
On Sunday, Lee said the US government had shown a "positive" stance towards South Korea's demand that American exporters voluntarily refrain from shipping beef from older cattle.
"The (Seoul) government's stance is firm that beef from cattle older than 30 months won't be imported in any cases," he said.
Lee's entire cabinet offered its resignation last week to give him scope for a planned reshuffle to placate the public. Some 100,000 people, according to police, protested last Tuesday in Seoul, although rallies since then have been smaller.
Lee, elected last December with a record victory margin, has seen his popularity ratings tumble to below 20 percent.
Seoul insists it cannot meet demands to renegotiate the deal, saying that would jeopardise a separate wider free trade agreement and cast doubt on South Korea's good faith as a negotiator.
However, it is seeking a voluntary agreement by exporters and importers to exclude older US cattle, backed up by some form of government guarantee.
Both governments see the disease risk as virtually non-existent.
But many protesters see the hasty conclusion of the import deal – just before the first summit between Lee and President George W. Bush – as a humiliating concession to Washington.
The theme of the protests has also broadened to include demands for Lee to step down.
- AFP/so
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