SKorean president apologizes over beef deal, pledges to ban certain imports

South Korea's president pledged to keep U.S. beef out of South Korea unless Washington limits exports to younger cattle, seeking to defuse a political crisis that has derailed his plan to boost U.S. ties and reinvigorate the economy.

In a nationally televised address Thursday, President Lee Myung-bak said he will "ensure that U.S. beef older than 30 months will not be put on our dinner tables as long as people don't want it."

The South Korean leader said he told U.S. President George W. Bush earlier this month that South Korea "would not be able to import U.S. beef" if his demands banning beef from older cattle _ believed to be more at risk of mad cow disease _ were not accepted.

His comments came as the top trade officials for the two countries held their latest talks Thursday in Washington, where Seoul was seeking to restrict beef shipments to cattle younger than 30 months.

Gretchen Hamel, a spokeswoman for the U.S. trade envoy, said the "talks are going well and we are making progress." The ministers and their technical staff have been meeting since late last week.

South Korea suspended imports of U.S. beef after the first American case of mad cow disease appeared in December 2003, closing what had been the third-largest foreign market.

Lee also apologized Thursday to the South Korean people over his April decision to allow resumed imports of American beef _ made just hours before he met Bush in Washington _ saying he thought it would help passage of a broader free-trade deal with the United States.

"I and the government are deeply sorry" for not caring about what the people wanted, he said.

It was Lee's second apology in less than a month over the beef debacle, which has forced all of his top aides and the entire Cabinet to offer to resign and led to weeks of protests. Lee took office in February after a landslide election win but has seen his popularity plummet over the beef issue.

With the global economy slowing, Lee said he had viewed the U.S.-South Korea free-trade agreement as a "shortcut" to fulfill his campaign promise to boost the South's economy.

"I did not want to miss this golden opportunity," he said.

But "there was no possibility of ratification" this year of the free-trade deal if South Korea continued to reject American beef, he said. The free-trade agreement has been approved by both governments but awaits legislative approval in Seoul and Washington.

Lee, a conservative from the Grand National Party, also said he wanted to improve relations with the U.S. to help the country's security, citing the nuclear threat from North Korea. Ties between the longtime allies had become strained during a decade of liberal governments in Seoul.

The beef agreement sparked anti-government protests that climaxed last week with a candlelight rally that drew some 80,000 people. But the scale of rallies has since dropped as the government began seeking to limit the import deal.