SKorean trade minister to travel to U.S. for talks on beef disputeSEOUL

,South Korea — South Korea's top trade official said Thursday he would travel to the U.S. for talks on the issue of resuming American beef imports, which has sparked weeks of rallies by protesters citing concerns over mad cow disease.

Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon told reporters he would try to get Washington to approve measures under which the industry would voluntarily agree to not ship meat from cattle older than 30 months. He was to leave Friday to join a South Korean delegation already in Washington.

Both the South Korean and U.S. sides have said they do not plan to renegotiate an April agreement that places no age restrictions on beef imports.

Concerns over the safety of U.S. beef triggered protests that have in recent weeks grown into large anti-government rallies. The entire Cabinet offered to resign earlier this week to dampen public outrage.

Cattle older than 30 months are believed to be more susceptible to mad cow disease. Other countries have also restricted imports of older American beef, such as Japan that only allows meat from cattle younger than 20 months.

Kim said he would meet U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab and seek to work out "substantial, efficient" measures to prevent beef from cattle 30 months and older from entering the South Korean market.

South Korea was the third-largest overseas customer for U.S. beef until it banned imports after a case of mad cow disease, the first of three confirmed in the United States, was detected in 2003.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak agreed to the beef deal in April just before a summit with U.S. President George W. Bush, seeking to fulfill campaign pledge to foster warmer ties with Washington. The move was also seen as a way to help aid passage in the U.S. Congress of a broader free-trade agreement with the U.S., which also requires legislative approval in South Korea.

Lee's government has been paralyzed by the dispute, accused of taking action without seeking public consensus and kowtowing to Washington.