South Korean protesters will continue their candlelight vigils, Yonhap quoted organizers as saying Friday, as South Korea's trade minister is to travel to Washington for a new round of beef talks.
"We can't just sit idly and watch," Park Won-suk, a lead organizer of a civic coalition, the People's Association Against Mad Cow Disease, said, according to Yonhap.
He expected a turnout of more than 20,000 people at the nightly vigil held at the Seoul City Hall plaza.
South Korean Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon is set to arrive in Washington later Friday to meet with U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab and discuss possible revisions to the beef agreement over the weekend.
Seoul seeks Washington's cooperation to ban exports of U.S. beef from cattle older than 30 months, which is allowed under the agreement, to allay Korean concerns over mad cow disease, Yonhap reported.
Friday's rally coincided with the anniversary of the deaths of two middle school girls who were hit by a U.S. armored vehicle in 2002. The accident led hundreds of thousands of people to take to the streets demanding an apology from Washington.
Police said they are expecting the upcoming rallies to be smaller than those earlier this week, as many citizens are waiting to hear the results of the weekend's beef talks in Washington.
Source:Xinhua
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