South Korea Suspends U.S. Beef Again

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea has effectively suspended U.S. beef imports over mad cow concerns after a recent shipment was found to have contained banned parts, a news report said Thursday.

The Agriculture Ministry said it halted quarantine inspections of American beef shipments Wednesday after finding a banned vertebral column in a recent shipment, Yonhap news agency reported. Without such inspections, the beef cannot be brought to market.

The banned part is considered a "specified risk material" that could carry mad cow disease.

South Korea shut its doors to American beef in December 2003 after mad cow disease — or bovine spongiform encephalopathy — was found in cattle in the U.S. It partially reopened its market last year but agreed to accept only boneless meat from cattle under 30 months old, thought to be less at risk of carrying the illness.

Although there have been other imports of U.S. beef since the ban was relaxed, South Korean consumers had not been able to buy the meat at regular supermarkets until last month.

Also Thursday, Japan and the U.S. started a technical meeting in Tokyo to discuss keeping U.S. beef imports free of mad cow disease amid Washington's calls for Japan to relax its import restrictions.

Read the full Associated Press story here.