South Korea Delays Plan to Import U.S. Beef

South Korea said it was delaying the planned resumption of U.S. beef imports, following weekend protests in that country, the Associated Press reported Monday.

An Agriculture Ministry spokesman said the ministry had decided to put off the final administrative step needed to clear the way for imports to begin, but offered no details nor said how long the delay would last, AP reported.

The delay came after thousands of South Koreans protested over the weekend against a decision to implement an April beef import agreement with the United States, AP said.

U.S beef has been banned by South Korea for most of the past four and a half years over fears of mad cow disease, AP reported.

South Korea said in April it would reopen what was the third-largest overseas market for American beef. The decision would affect trucking companies that haul U.S. beef for export.