U.S. Assures Korea About Beef Safety

SEOUL, South Korea -- A senior U.S. official tried to assure South Koreans about U.S. beef, after opponents to South Korea's president raised food-safety concerns that may threaten a broader trade deal between the two countries.

In a visit Friday, U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez met President Lee Myung-bak and several other South Korean officials to discuss the controversy over food safety that erupted here following Mr. Lee's agreement in mid-April to reopen the country to full imports of U.S. beef.

South Korea is one of many countries that halted imports after the discovery of a cow with a case ...