S. KOREA, U.S. TO HOLD FORMAL TALKS ON RESUMING BEEF IMPORTS.

SEOUL, Jan. 2 Asia Pulse - South Korea and the United States are expected to hold formal talks on the resumption of U.S. beef imports next week, a government source said Monday.

The January 9-10 talks in Seoul were called for by the U.S. side and will take place earlier than expected, the source at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry said.

South Korean negotiators are bracing for tough negotiations, as American cattle ranchers have expressed dissatisfaction over a deal with Japan on the age of cows shipped to that country, he added.

Tokyo has agreed to allow U.S. beef into the country from cows that are less than 20 months old.

Ranchers, however, say this is not commercially viable because cows start growing big after 20 months and don't have that much meat before then.

"There is a possibility that the United States will ask South Korea to allow beef from cows under 30 months old to be imported, which could cause strong resistance from local ranchers and consumer groups that have raised health concerns," a ministry official said.

He said Seoul's position was particularly hard, because Washington had gotten Taiwan to accept the 30-month age limit in negotiations last April.