SEOUL - US Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez urged South Korea on Friday to quickly to open its market to American beef, and dismissed fears of mad cow disease which have brought thousands of protesters onto the streets.

'There is no safer beef. It is second to none in the world,' he said during a visit to Seoul aimed at pushing forward with a sweeping free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries.

The FTA was signed last June but must be ratified by the legislatures of both countries. Opposition parties here say they will not approve it unless a separate agreement opening the Korean market to US beef is renegotiated.

The two sides signed the beef deal last month. But the parties and street protesters say the meat carries a risk of the human form of mad cow disease.

Seoul's agriculture ministry this week delayed resumption of beef imports by a week to 10 days to consider protest petitions, but says there will be no renegotiation.

'We look forward to the full and quick implementation of this (beef) agreement,' Mr Gutierrez told a press conference, describing the delay as unfortunate.

'The beef which we will be selling to Korea is the same beef that we all buy in the US, that we feed our children in the US and is the same beef that Korean-Americans eat in the US,' the commerce secretary said.

South Korea also says the beef is totally safe. But President Lee Myung-Bak has said his government should have done more to counter mad cow fears, which are fuelled by Internet postings or anonymous text messaging.

At a meeting with Mr Gutierrez on Friday, Mr Lee asked for US help to get the message across to Koreans. 'I hope (the US government) can extend a lot of support to help appease the people,' he told him.

Mr Gutierrez said he and Mr Lee agreed that 'facts and science' should be considered during the beef debate.

He reaffirmed President George W. Bush's commitment to have Congress approve the FTA this year and said he expects it to be approved once it comes to a vote.

The FTA 'would create jobs in Korea and the US, strengthen and build prosperity in Korea and the US and give consumers greater choice in Korea and the US,' Mr Gutierrez said.

For South Korea's economy to reach the next level of advancement, 'it will take the kind of reforms and openness the KORUS FTA will bring.'

For the US, the commerce secretary said, lowering barriers to trade was more important than ever. Trade was the second largest contributor to America's GDP in 2007 and exports in the first quarter kept the economy growing.

'We must make it clear to those who would support economic isolationism in America - or in any country - that a step away from the global economy would have devastating consequences.'

Total trade between South Korea and the US is worth an annual US$80 billion (S$110 billion). Some studies show this could eventually rise by up to US$20 billion under a free trade regime. -- AFP