Nine tons of U.S. beef produced at a slaughterhouse in Arkansas City, Kansas., arrived in Korea at 9:30 a.m., the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry said.

Though Korea lifted its import ban on U.S. beef last month, U.S. beef exporters have been reluctant to make shipments to Korea, demanding the Korean government tolerate possibly-included bone fragments in beef products.

Seoul has said it will destroy or send back shipments of U.S. beef that contain bone fragments and the National Veterinary Research & Quarantine Service is set to check if the first shipment contains specified risk materials (SRM).

``After undergoing a thorough quarantine processes, it will be distributed on the market in about two weeks,’’ a ministry official said. ``As far as I know, a Korean importer asked the U.S. slaughterhouse to remove all bones,’’

Source: times.hankooki.com