Seoul Mayor Goh Kun said yesterday that the metropolitan government would not take any special measures to control the sales of dog meat during the 2002 World Cup soccer finals.

In an interview with Reuters published Thursday, Goh made clear the city's position on the controversial issue, which has resurfaced in the wake of a letter from FIFA, the world's soccer governing body.

"There are two words for dog in Korea, one for pets and one for dogs bred for meat," he said. "I think that FIFA would not have written that kind of letter if they had known the truth about this issue."

FIFA President Joseph Blatter sent a strongly worded letter recently to Chung Mong-joon, a FIFA vice president and co-chairman of the World Cup organizing committee, asking him to help put a stop to cruelty to animals in South Korea ahead of next year's World Cup.

A crackdown on butchering dogs or distributing dog meat under unsanitary conditions will begin next month. Police and health officials will conduct a monthly review in cities and provinces around the country; fines of 200,000 won ($154) will be levied on those found violating animal protection laws.

An official with the government support team for the 2002 World Cup and Asian Games said the crackdown will focus on Moran Market in Seongnam and other traditional dog-butchering sites.

He added that foreign media and animal rights groups are threatening to boycott both international events if South Korea continues to allow the butchering of dogs.

The official said, though, that a complete ban on butchering dogs for food was unrealistic.

NEW YORK - The New York affiliate of the Warner Brothers television network reported Monday that Korean-Americans are raising dogs for food, which is banned in the United States. The station ran a five-minute film of a Korean-American chopping a chunk of what was reported to be dog meat.

The broadcast reported that Korean restaurants in Flushing, New York are selling dishes containing dog meat, which the report characterized as "a common practice in Korea."

Several groups representing Korean-Americans were furious, saying that their children did not even want to go to school any more.

The owner of the Korean restaurant where the film was shot protested, saying the meat was not that of a domesticated dog but of a coyote. Coyote is a member of the canine family, but is considered to be edible in some states in America.

The owner of the Korean restaurant said a Korean-American who resides in Washington came to him and requested dog meat for his father. The owner said he offered the man the coyote meat.

"Warner Brothers must have shot the film secretly," the owner said. "When the reporter asked me if it was dog meat I told him the truth, that it was coyote, which is legal to sell. I am going to file a lawsuit against them." The owner has a license to catch and sell coyote meat and pelts.

Warner Brothers defended the report, saying that the meat was found to be that of a coyote cross-bred with a domesticated dog. The network did not say where or how the meat was analyzed.

Groups representing Korean-Americans in the United States and the Korean consul general in Washington, Lee Hyun-ju, said they will do their best to protect the rights of any Koreans or Korean-Americans negatively affected by the Warner Brothers report.