A South Korean Agriculture Ministry official said the second day of beef talks had started but declined to give further details, citing the ongoing negotiations. He asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

During the first day of talks Friday, the U.S. pressed South Korea to open its market to American beef imports, but Seoul insisted it would make a decision on Washington's demand only after discussing the issue with experts.

The U.S. says a resolution of the beef dispute is needed for congressional leaders in Washington to support a wider free-trade agreement with South Korea that was signed last year. South Korea was the third-largest foreign market for American beef before it banned imports in December 2003 after the brain-wasting disease was discovered in the U.S.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak was scheduled to travel to the U.S. Tuesday for his first summit with President George W. Bush. The two leaders are expected to discuss the beef ban and the trade deal.

Seoul agreed in 2006 to import boneless U.S. beef from cattle less than 30 months old, partially lifting its almost three-year ban. Young cattle are believed to be at least risk of carrying bovine spongiform encephalopathy, better known as mad cow disease. But all imports were suspended again in October after shipments were found to have violated quarantine regulations.

The U.S. has demanded South Korea fully reopen its beef market, saying American beef has been certified as safe by the Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health. But South Korea has insisted it will maintain quarantine regulations, citing concerns over mad cow disease.

Scientists believe mad cow disease spreads when farmers feed cattle recycled meat and bones from infected animals. Eating meat from infected animals is also believed to be linked to the rare but fatal brain-wasting human variant, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

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