Two dead wild pigs found inside the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas have tested negative for African swine fever, the defense ministry said Thursday.
The results came amid suspicions that the highly contagious virus might have spread from North Korea after South Korea confirmed the first ASF case on Sept. 17 in Paju, north of Seoul and near the heavily fortified border with the North.
(Yonhap)
"Inside the DMZ in the areas of Cheorwon, (Gangwon Province), we've so far found two dead boars this year, but they all tested negative for the virus," Col. Roh Jae-cheon, deputy spokesman of the defense ministry, said at a regular briefing.
"No cases have been found where wild boars crossed the border into the South," he added, noting that the border fences are built so that such animals cannot cross over or penetrate into the South.
So far, a total of six ASF cases have been confirmed, and fears have arisen that the disease may spread southward. (Yonhap)
