By Kim Hyun-cheol
Staff Reporter
South Korea and the United States reached a tentative agreement through additional talks in Washington Friday on guaranteeing the safety of American beef to be exported to Korea.
Details have yet to be made public but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said in a statement that negotiators from both countries made considerable progress in producing a mutually satisfactory agreement.
Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon, Seoul's top negotiator, will hold a press conference Saturday in Seoul after reporting the draft accord to President Lee Myung-bak.
``You can call it a tentative deal, because it is subject to final approval from both governments,'' a Seoul official said.
The talks focused on ways to guarantee that meat from cattle older than 30 months would not be exported to South Korea.
The age limit has been the most sensitive issue in the beef row here, as the beef from animals older than 30 months is believed to be more susceptible to carry mad cow disease.
Sources say the accord is likely to be a combined system of voluntary regulation on the age limit by U.S. exporters alongside government guarantees, rather than an export verification (EV) program as requested by Seoul.
Under an EV program, all American beef processing are inspected by the U.S. Agriculture Department, and the age limit of slaughtered cattle is thus guaranteed by the American government.
A group of South Korean meat importers said Friday they will not bring in U.S. beef from older cattle. The announcement came hours after the Washington negotiations were completed.
However, questions remain as to whether the supplementary agreement will satisfy the concerns of Korean consumers. With no details revealed, it remains unsure how the two governments will deal with any possible violations.
Its effectuation period could cause another problem. Seoul wants to maintain the ban on beef from 30-month-old cattle for at least a year, until the United States implements additional protein-based, animal feed safety measures next April.
Massive rallies and candlelit vigils against the original deal have crippled the Lee administration, less than four months after taking office, forcing the entire Cabinet and all senior presidential secretaries to offer their resignations en masse. The President's approval rating nose-dived to below 10 percent this month.
Critics say Seoul should have banned imports of beef from older animals in the initial deal signed April 18, which allowed nearly all parts of beef from cattle of any age onto the market.
They add that this ``unprofessional approach'' by government officials also angered the public.
President Lee made a second public apology to the people Thursday, saying that he and his administration ``did not fully understand the concerns of the majority of the people before agreeing to resume the imports of American beef.''