US apologizes for early word of Bush S.Korea trip

WASHINGTON, July 2 (Reuters) - The United States government has issued a rare apology to South Korea -- not for a beef deal that has sparked protests in the streets of Seoul but for prematurely announcing President George W. Bush's trip there next month.

A White House official on Tuesday said Bush would travel to South Korea on Aug. 5-6 before he attends the Summer Olympics in China, but White House spokeswoman Dana Perino told reporters on Wednesday that the announcement was "premature."

"Yes, there was a little bit of an apology from the United States, but I think that it's pretty minor," she said.

Scores of South Koreans have filled the streets of Seoul for weeks protesting a deal that permits U.S. beef imports after a nearly five-year ban instituted amid an outbreak of mad cow disease in the United States.

South Korea and U.S. trade officials in late June reworked a beef import deal first reached in April to mollify a South Korean public that said the government was putting its health at risk by importing U.S. beef.

The White House and other U.S. government agencies hold tightly onto Bush's travel details, rarely announcing visits far in advance and often revealing travel plans well after officials in other countries have publicly discussed them. (Reporting by Jeremy Pelofsky, editing by David Wiessler)