By Kim Hyun-cheol, Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporters

Chief trade officials of South Korea and the United States could not reach a tangible solution for the ongoing row over the resumption of U.S. beef imports, Saturday, on the second day of their additional round of talks.

The Korean delegation discussed the issue with their U.S. counterpart, led by U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab, but the two sides failed to make significant progress.

``The two sides will be back to the negotiating table after a one-day break for an internal discussion,'' Kim Jong-hoon, Korean trade minister and chief negotiator of the delegation, was quoted by Yonhap News as saying.

The minister did not reveal the consequence of talks during his stay in Washington. The decision is inevitable because of the significance and the national attention the issue has, the South Korean Embassy said.

No details have been disclosed about the meeting so far. Sources said the Korean delegation asked the U.S. negotiators to adapt an export verification program (EV), to which Washington is negative to agree for fear of violation of international trade protocols.

Under an EV program, all American beef processing factories will be under the government supervision and given outlined requirements for beef exports including the age limit of slaughtered cattle.

The EV was not included in the bilateral agreement on the resumption of U.S. beef imports made on April 18.

The two sides are trying to ``find a mutually agreeable path forward on this issue,'' USTR spokesperson Gretchen Hamel, but still declined to reveal what the discussion was about.

Schwab's spokesman Sean Spicer said there was no timetable for the additional negotiation.

``We have a lot of issues to work out,'' Spicer said. ``There's no quick fix to this.''

The South Korean Embassy reiterated what the U.S. officials said, saying Kim's trip for the mission is open-ended.

Ahead of Kim's visit to the United States, Seoul clarified its bottom line is to make ``renegotiation-like'' practical measures that can keep exporters and importers in both countries from dealing with beef from animals 30 months or older, not renege on the already made agreement.

The Bush administration suggested one solution that it encourages beef exports to label the beef with the age of butchered cattle, so Korean consumers have information on the meat they purchase, while Koreans hope the additional negotiations will find a way to keep the country from importing meat from animals above 30 months old.

Major U.S. beef exporters have said they would abide by the policy if enacted.

Meanwhile, Rep. Hwang Jin-ha of the governing Grand National Party reported the result of his four-lawmaker team's recent visit to the United States, saying that Washington is vehemently opposed to the renegotiations on the beef deal.

Both administration officials and congressional leaders asked them what caused massive rallies in Seoul against the resumption of U.S. beef imports, Hwang said.

hckim@koreatimes.co.kr
hkang@koreatimes.co.kr