South Korea's top football official said Monday that dog meat consumption in Korea should not concern football world governing body FIFA,.

``The issue was touched off by foreign media reports about a letter FIFA president Joseph Sepp Blatter sent to me,'' said Chung Mong-joon, FIFA vice president and co-chairman of the Korean Organizing Committee for the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan (KOWOC).

``I sent a reply to Blatter at that time, saying there is nothing to worry about,'' he explained at a discussion organized by the Kwanhun Club, an organization comprising more than 800 of Korea's senior journalists, Chung, who is also a National Assembly member as well as president of the Korea Football Association, recalled that the dog meat issue was taken up when South Korea hosted the 1998 Olympic Games, but that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) did not take action itself against the practice. ``I don't understand why FIFA has raised the issue itself,'' Chung said. Recently, FIFA said on its Internet homepage that Chung had vowed his ``personal commitment to efforts to enforce existing laws that forbid mistreatment of animals.'' and had willingly accepted Blatter's request that Chung take immediate and decisive steps to end cruelty to animals in South Korea.

Chung said in his letter to Blatter that KOWOC and the South Korean government had already launched a joint investigation for better protection of animals, according to the FIFA homepage.

Blatter said FIFA has received thousands of letters from many countries, accusing South Korea of cruelty to animals, including cats and dogs. Meanwhile, in connection with Seoul's proposal that South Korea share some World Cup matches with North Korea, Chung said the North had remained silent on the proposal, but he added that there is still time before the Dec. 1 draw for grouping the teams in the finals in Pusan. He also reiterated his hope that the Japanese emperor will attend the May 31 opening ceremony of the tournament in Seoul.

South Korea and Japan will co-host the World Cup finals from May 31 to June 30 next year.