The South Korean government said on Thursday that it will start quarantine inspections of U.S. beef from Friday as the government officially lifted its ban on imports, according to Yonhap News Agency.
The quarantine process was supposed to start late Thursday, but the Agriculture Ministry said it will begin inspecting American beef from Friday morning, a delay apparently made to avoid clashes with demonstrators who oppose its distribution in the local market.
"We have decided to just receive requests for quarantine inspections today, and the quarantine process will begin from earlier tomorrow," a ministry official said.
However, he did not explain the reason for the delay.
Quarantine inspections are expected to be carried out on some 5,300 tons of frozen American beef which await the final procedure before being released in the local market.
But public concerns are still running high over the imported meat, despite the government's assurances that new trade terms with Washington sufficiently guarantee its safety.
Many activities and civic groups are vowing to continue their protests against the deal.
Earlier in the day, the South Korea's government published a legal notice of a recent Seoul-Washington beef deal in its gazette, the final administrative step prior to the resumption of imports.
Source:Xinhua
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