Wikileads

Thousands of Koreans have taken to the streets to protest a free-trade agreement between South Korea and the U.S. that would reopen Korea to U.S. beef imports.

The protests turned violent over the weekend as riot police beat protesters and sprayed them with water cannons. Wikileaks released photos of the bloodshed.

Beef imports to Korea were cut off in 2003 because of fears of Mad Cow Disease after three cases of the disease were found in the U.S. Many Koreans fear that U.S. beef imports could endanger their health.

The U.S. will only agree to the free-trade agreement if the Korean government resumes the beef trade.

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Associated Press
Agence France Press