The halting of required inspections had effectively stopped U.S. beef sales in Korea.

The Agriculture and Forestry Ministry said on Sunday it will resume inspections on U.S. beef beginning next Monday following safety guarantees from Washington.

Four meat processing plants in the U.S. have been found to have mistakenly packed beef parts barred from coming into Korea.

Seoul has imposed an export shipping ban on the four companies. They will remain on a watch list until new sanitation measures are put in place.

Seoul put the brakes on American beef imports earlier this month when spinal matter was discovered in U.S. beef shipments.

Spinal cord, backbone and nerve tissue of cattle are designated as Specified Risk Material and Korea has banned U.S. exports of those parts to prevent the spread of the disease.

Mad cow disease is a fatal brain-eating sickness found in cows believed to have consumed contaminated cattle feed.

Scientists say there may be a link between mad cow and a similar disease called Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease in humans.

Seoul banned U.S. beef imports in late 2003 when mad cow disease was discovered in a cow at a U.S. farm.

Late last year Korea resumed U.S. beef imports but only of boneless meat.

Arirang News