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| Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon, right, talks with Foreign Affairs Minister Kang Kyung-wha during a Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae, Wednesday. / Korea Times photo by Ryu Hyo-jin |
By Lee Suh-yoon
Quarantine authorities are on high alert following suspicions that the African swine fever virus (ASFV) may have reached North Korea, fearing it could soon spread south and affect the entire peninsula.
"It seems African swine fever has been detected in North Korea," Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon said on Facebook, Wednesday, after a Cabinet meeting. "To make sure ASFV is not carried across the border by wild boars, thorough prevention measures are needed at the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and along the Imjin River."
There currently is no vaccine or cure for the disease, which causes fever and bleeding in pigs, though the virus does not affect humans. More severe strains of the virus can kill animals within 10 days of infection and could wipe out entire livestock farms. Over a million pigs have already been culled in China where the first outbreak was reported last August. Since then, the highly-contagious virus has spread across China's borders into Mongolia, Vietnam and Cambodia.
Two of the reported outbreaks in China occurred in the China-North Korea border area, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
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| Pigs at a farm in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province. / Korea Times file |
North Korea, however, has yet to officially confirm the reported cases with the authorities here, despite repeated requests for inter-government cooperation on preventative measures.
"The North Korean government did not officially announce any confirmed outbreaks, and international organizations in North Korea have not confirmed these either," the Ministry of Unification told local media. "But North Korean authorities have recently called for precautions against African swine flu in the country through various media channels."
The ministry added it was "preparing for the possible spread of ASFV in border areas with the North."
Like China, the world's biggest producer and consumer of pork, Korea has one of the world's highest densities of domesticated pigs, according to the FAO's livestock system map.
President Moon Jae-in also called for "strong caution" at the Cabinet meeting.
"Considering the catastrophic consequences that could occur in the event of an African swine flu outbreak, strong caution is needed," he warned. "Exceptional prevention measures must be taken to make sure the virus does not enter the country."
The virus can also be carried across borders in processed pork, later finding its way into livestock feed as recycled food waste or on objects or equipment brought into farms.
According to a government order issued Wednesday, people who carry or bring in pork from countries with confirmed outbreaks face a 5 million won ($4,200) fine. Those caught doing so three times are subject to a 10 million won fine.
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