South Korea is currently making preparations against the possible spread of African swine fever from North Korea, a unification ministry official said Wednesday, amid concerns that the disease may have broken out there.
(Yonhap)
"North Korea has not made an official statement on an outbreak of African swine fever, and international organizations have also not confirmed a possible outbreak," an official from the Ministry of Unification said.
The unification ministry, meanwhile, is working closely with other authorities such as the agriculture ministry and the military to cope with a possible outbreak in border areas, the official added.
South Korea has delivered its intention multiple times of joining forces with the North on implementing quarantine measures against African swine fever, the official said.
Although African swine fever is not harmful to people, it is fatal and highly infectious for pigs, with no cure currently available. Since its outbreak in China in August, the disease has spread to neighboring countries like Mongolia and Vietnam.
Earlier in the day, South Korea's Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon said on social media that African swine fever is suspected to have reached North Korea and called for local authorities to prevent the disease's possible influx into the country through wild boars.
The South Korean government has been rolling out stronger quarantine measures to prevent the disease from entering the country, including imposing stronger fines on people bringing in livestock products. (Yonhap)