South Korea, which in October halted imports from China of a spicy cabbage dish called kimchi due to health concerns, said this week it does not want its action to spark a trade war with Beijing.

Last month, the Korea Food and Drug administration banned the sale of kimchi imported from China because samples contained parasites found in human excrement. China in turn banned imports of some South Korean food products.

South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon told a press briefing that Seoul was working closely with Beijing to solve the issue of the use of human excrement as a fertilizer in some Chinese agriculture.

This year's imports from China to October 20 reached 94,128 tons, up by about 30 percent from the same period last year. The 2005 imports had a value of about $40 million, South Korea's food administration said.

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