South Korea on Friday banned imports of poultry from the Netherlands after a highly pathogenic strain of bird flu was found in the country.

The Dutch government announced on Thursday that chickens on a farm in the central province of Gelderland were infected with a highly contagious variant of avian influenza (AI).

South Korea's agriculture ministry said it imposed an import ban on all poultry and poultry products from the country.

The ministry added it would enhance monitoring of fowl at borders as AI outbreaks have been reported from China, Taiwan and some European countries.

South Korea also confirmed two infections of highly pathogenic H5N8 avian flu among wild birds in provincial towns this week. (Yonhap)