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South Korea Beef Talks Set for Jan. 9

announced Tuesday that it will conduct formal beef trade resumption talks with the United States in Seoul Jan. 9 and 10.

A South Korean official told Agence France Presse he did not expect rapid action on accepting beef imports. The official said that during the meetings, "both sides will verify and narrow differences. It will take some time to lift our ban."

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, says it's evident through strong Korean farmer protests that their government is nearing trade resumption. He says the Korean opposition was shown through their demonstrations in Hong Kong at the World Trade Organization ministerial meeting in December. "They'll use every excuse they can to keep our beef out," Grassley says. "We'll keep the pressure on them the same as we did for Japan. Hopefully it won't be as long as it was for Japan."

Over the last month, beef trade has resumed with Japan and Hong Kong. South Korea was the United States' third-largest export customer prior to the end of 2003.