South Korea and the United States have concluded week-long talks to discuss ensuring the safety of U.S. beef shipments, officials said Friday.
"We've reached a mutually agreeable path," Gretchen Hamel, U.S. Trade Representative spokesperson, was quoted as saying by Yonhap News after a brief afternoon meeting between South Korea's Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon and U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab in Washington.
Emerging from the meeting, Kim said he was returning to Seoul, "although the talks have not yet been concluded."
South Korea has been shaken by protests over the controversial beef deal since early May, amid public concerns over mad cow disease.
Lee's approval ratings plummeted below 20 percent after the beef row erupted. He won the December presidential election by the largest margin ever thanks to his campaign pledges to revive the faltering South Korean economy.