South Korea to reopen its market to U.S. beef (San Francisco Chronicle) More than four years after closing its borders to imports of U.S. beef due to a case of mad cow disease found in a dairy cow in Washington state, South Korea said Friday it will fully reopen its market, moving to restore what was once more than $800 million... [News Source]

Heads up: South Korea agrees to resume U.S. beef imports (The Kansas City Star) South Korea agreed to resume U.S. beef imports that had been halted over fears of mad cow disease. That cleared a big hurdle to a broader trade deal with Washington just hours before the countries' leaders were to meet Friday. South Korea suspended U.S. beef imports in 2003 after mad cow disease was discovered in the U.S., cutting off what was then the third-largest market for American beef. [News Source]

South Korea agrees to resume US beef imports (The New Sabah Times) SEOUL : South Korea has tentatively agreed to resume US beef imports halted over concerns of mad cow disease, a news report said Friday, just hours before a summit between the two countries’ leaders. [News Source]

South Korea Will Lift Its Ban on American Beef (New York Times) The decision ended a ban begun in 2003 over concerns about mad cow disease and removed a major dispute between the allies. [News Source]

The sorry myth of brucellosis. A far more serious and inevitably fatal disease than brucellosis, called chronic wasting disease, is approaching the elk feed grounds — where it could be catastrophic. [News Source]

Meat inspection is adequate, USDA official tells Congress. The Bush administration Thursday resisted calls from Congress to add more inspectors and new technologies to oversee slaughterhouses, saying neither was necessary to do the job adequately. [News Source]

U.S. hopeful for beef deal with South Korea soon. 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]

USDA resists Congress’ push. The Bush administration resisted calls from Congress to add more inspectors and new technologies to improve oversight of the nation's slaughterhouses, saying yesterday that neither was necessary to do the job adequately. [News Source]

Meat inspectors can’t keep up, official says. The improper slaughter of so-called downer cows that led to the nation's largest beef recall wasn't an isolated incident, a union official representing U.S. Agriculture Department meat inspectors told a House panel. [News Source]

S Korea due to lift US beef ban. Seoul, once the world's third biggest importer of US beef, has agreed to relax restrictions on beef imports from the US into South Korea. [News Source]