Japan and South Korea are likely to resume U.S. beef imports in June, Asia news reports say.

Citing government sources, the Kyodo News reported May 19 that the decision is likely as Japanese experts indicated to their U.S. counterparts the day before their satisfaction with measures taken by the U.S. to safeguard beef.

Meanwhile, the Korea Times reported Tuesday that U.S. beef imports to South Korea will resume in mid June, with officials at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) expecting the first batch of U.S. beef to arrive in the port city of Pusan in mid-June.

An MAF official said the U.S. beef has little risk of being infected with BSE and stressed that, "only meat processed in designated spots in the U.S. will be imported.'' -- Joe Roybal