South Korea resumed beef imports from the United States on Monday to end a three-year ban against U.S. beef.

South Korea banned the import of U.S. beef in late 2003 after a case of mad cow disease was reported there. A shipment of nine tons of U.S. beef is expected to arrive at South Korea's Incheon International Airport on Monday, which will be the first U.S. beef arrive in South Korea since the South Korean government decided to lift the ban in early September.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the U.S. beef will be available for South Korean consumers one or two weeks later after quarantine inspections.

When the U.S. meat arrives, the National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service will open all meat packages and test whether specified risk materials (SRMs) are contained in them, the ministry said in a statement.

SRM refers to brains, head bones, spinal cord marrow, backbones and intestine parts with the highest risk of transmitting mad cow disease to humans.

Under a bilateral agreement reached between Seoul and Washington in January, South Korea can re-impose a ban on U.S. beef imports if SRMs are found in any shipment.

South Korea was the third largest U.S. beef market before the 2003 ban.

Source: Xinhua