Korean president tells Congress hopeful on beef

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - South Korean President Lee Myung-bak told U.S. lawmakers on Thursday he hoped U.S. and Korean negotiators could resolve a long-running beef spat while he is in Washington this week, a U.S. lawmaker said.

"He said they'd been talking beef ... and he hoped to be able to resolve it this week before he leaves," Rep. Donald Manzullo, an Illinois Republican, told reporters after meeting with Lee.

Lee told reporters before meeting with House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other lawmakers he was in Washington to promote ties with the United States.

However, he waved off a reporter's question whether there would be a resolution to the long-running beef spat this week.

South Korea was once the third-largest import market for U.S. beef, but it now allows only U.S. boneless beef from cattle younger than 30 months, citing a case of mad cow disease in the United States more than four years ago.

U.S. lawmakers have warned the Bush administration not to ask Congress to ratify the free trade agreement reached with South Korea last year until the beef spat has been resolved.

Earlier on Thursday, a White House official said the United States hoped to reach a deal during Lee's visit this week to allow all American beef to be imported into South Korea.

"We are extremely hopeful ... It is a very cooperative process, a cordial process we're involved in," Dennis Wilder, the White House National Security Council senior director for East Asian affairs, told reporters. "So I think it's looking hopeful."

Lee will meet with U.S. President George W. Bush at the Camp David presidential retreat on Friday and Saturday and the two will hold a joint news conference afterward.

Wilder said the U.S. negotiator was in South Korea still trying to bridge the differences and said it was possible that a deal could be announced on Saturday.

Manzullo told reporters that Lee and U.S. lawmakers spent 80 percent of the meeting talking about "autos and beef."

Many U.S. lawmakers -- include Democratic presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton -- believe the agreement's auto provisions favor South Korea too much.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement that Congress should move quickly to approve the free trade agreement with South Korea once the beef dispute is resolved.

(Additional reporting by Jeremy Pelofsky)