Report: South Korea To Resume U.S. Beef Imports (Nasdaq) (RTTNews) - South Korea has reached a tentative agreement with the United States to resume imports of American beef, the Yonhap news agency reported on Friday. Imports of U.S. beef have been suspended since October when banned animal parts relating to mad cow disease were found in a shipment. [News Source]

Seoul tentatively agrees to resume US beef imports (AP via Yahoo! News) South Korea has tentatively agreed to resume U.S. beef imports that had been halted over concerns of mad cow disease, a news report said Friday, just hours before the two countries' leaders were to hold a summit. [News Source]

Report: SKorea agrees to resume US beef imports (AP via Yahoo! Singapore News) South Korea has tentatively agreed to relax quarantine regulations and resume U.S. beef imports halted over concerns of mad cow disease, a news report said Friday, just hours before the two countries' leaders were to hold a summit. [News Source]

South Korean president to meet with US lawmakers (AP via Yahoo! News) The United States will still have leverage over North Korea even if the communist state reneges on its nuclear disarmament promises, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Thursday, as the Bush administration welcomes a new South Korean leader nervous about his neighbor's intentions. [News Source]

UK in new beef row with Brussels. Many people believe there is no better taste in meat than beef from traditional animals hung for three or four weeks to give it a fuller flavour. But this delicacy is under attack, from European rules designed to protect French eaters of Steak Tartare. [News Source]

SKorean president to meet with US lawmakers (AP via Yahoo! News) The United States will still have leverage over North Korea even if the communist state reneges on its nuclear disarmament promises, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Thursday, as the Bush administration welcomes a new South Korean leader nervous about his neighbor's intentions. [News Source]

U.S. hopeful for beef deal with South Korea soon (Reuters via Yahoo! News) The United States hopes to reach a deal to allow all American beef to be imported into South Korea after a four-year ban, during the visit of President Lee Myung-bak this week, U.S. officials said on Thursday. [News Source]

New hope for U.S.-South Korea ties (The Christian Science Monitor via Yahoo! News) The visit this week of South Korea's new president, Lee Myung Bak, offers a rare opportunity to put the American-Korean relationship back on a more solid footing. [News Source]

Union head claims USDA tried to intimidate employees (The San Luis Obispo Tribune) The head of the union that represents 6,000 federal food inspectors told a congressional committee Thursday that the Agriculture Department tried to intimidate him and other employees who reported violations of regulations, an allegation denied by the agency. Union chief Stan Painter said that following a mad cow disease scare in 2003, he told superiors that new food safety regulations for ... [News Source]