SEOUL, May 28: South Korea has agreed to hold new talks on import of US beef following an international ruling that mad cow disease is under control in the United States, Finance Minister Kwon O-Kyu said on Monday.

Kwon said Washington had called for talks on easing South Korea's strict restrictions on imports.

The request came after the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) assigned a “controlled risk” rating last week for American and Canadian beef regarding mad cow disease, he said.

US officials and politicians hailed the ruling as an endorsement that all American beef and beef products are safe.

“The government will hold sincere negotiations on setting new import rules by respecting the OIE's recommendation,” Kwon told reporters, adding Seoul would try to conclude a deal with Washington by the end of September.

South Korea, once the third-largest market for US beef, last year lifted a three-year ban imposed to keep out mad cow disease. But it agreed to accept only shipments of boneless meat.

When it sealed a landmark free trade pact with the US in April, Seoul gave verbal promises to consider a wider opening of its beef market following the OIE ruling.

The beef restrictions were not officially part of the free trade pact but some key US lawmakers had threatened to kill the deal without a full re-opening of the market.

Before the 2003 import ban, South Korea bought 850 million dollars of US beef a year.

Agriculture Minister Park Hong-Soo said Seoul was ready to discuss imports of “bone-in” beef but he said it would conduct its own risk assessment through on-site inspections before revising import rules.—AFP