South Korea and the United States agreed Friday on partially ending a two-year import ban on American beef triggered by mad cow disease, the South Korean government said.

South Korea shut its doors to U.S. beef imports in December 2003 after the first U.S. case of mad cow disease. At the time it was the third-largest foreign market for American beef, after Japan and Mexico.

South Korea said it agreed to resume imports of U.S. meat from calves under 30 months old. Imports are set to resume by the end of March.