S. Korea to use helicopters in DMZ to prevent spread of African swine fever
- 5 years ago
We begin with growing concerns over the spread of African swine fever.
South Korea is taking drastic measures to contain the virus.
The military has launched a week-long quarantine operation over the skies of the Demilitarized zone... flying helicopters to spray disinfectant... while ordering border guards to shoot any wild pigs they see in the area.
This comes as traces of ASF were found in a dead wild boar in the DMZ for the first time on Tuesday.
Our Kim Jae-hee starts us off.
For the first time on record, African swine fever has been discovered in a wild boar in South Korea.
Traces of the African swine fever were found in a dead wild boar in the Demilitarized Zone in Yeoncheon,... 1-point-4 kilometers away from Southern Limit Line of the DMZ.
There is a possibility the wild boar could have originated from North Korea,... where an African swine fever outbreak was reported in May.
Because of this, South Korea's military on Friday ordered troops at the border to shoot any wild pig crossing the Demilitarized Zone.
Helicopters will even be used to disinfect DMZ areas, starting Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi-do Province, for seven days starting Friday.
The ministry has ensured that they let North Korea know of this new measure.
Meanwhile, a suspected new case of African swine fever has been reported on Incheon's Baekryeong-do Island on Friday.
South Korea's Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon, during a meeting on Friday morning at the National Disaster and Safety Status Control Center, stressed the need for better management of the outbreak.
"African swine fever has spread in Paju, Gimpo, and Yeoncheon. We must look back on the past handlings and check if there was adequate management of those cases."
The Agriculture Ministry also decided to extend the 48-hour standstill on transporting pigs.
"To strengthen quarantine efforts near the inter-Korean border areas, the ministry has decided to extend the movement ban on pigs previously issued for Incheon, Gyeonggi-do Province and Gangwon-do Province by another 48 hours,... starting from 3:30 AM Friday."
The ministry will cull all pigs within a 3-kilometer radius of the infected farms in Gimpo and Paju.
For the pigs outside that radius, the government will buy the pigs off the farmers.
The pigs will then be sent to slaughterhouses where they will be tested before the meat is sold.
But in order to do this, farmers must register application forms for purchase to the respective cities in advance.
Kim Jae-hee, Arirang News.
South Korea is taking drastic measures to contain the virus.
The military has launched a week-long quarantine operation over the skies of the Demilitarized zone... flying helicopters to spray disinfectant... while ordering border guards to shoot any wild pigs they see in the area.
This comes as traces of ASF were found in a dead wild boar in the DMZ for the first time on Tuesday.
Our Kim Jae-hee starts us off.
For the first time on record, African swine fever has been discovered in a wild boar in South Korea.
Traces of the African swine fever were found in a dead wild boar in the Demilitarized Zone in Yeoncheon,... 1-point-4 kilometers away from Southern Limit Line of the DMZ.
There is a possibility the wild boar could have originated from North Korea,... where an African swine fever outbreak was reported in May.
Because of this, South Korea's military on Friday ordered troops at the border to shoot any wild pig crossing the Demilitarized Zone.
Helicopters will even be used to disinfect DMZ areas, starting Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi-do Province, for seven days starting Friday.
The ministry has ensured that they let North Korea know of this new measure.
Meanwhile, a suspected new case of African swine fever has been reported on Incheon's Baekryeong-do Island on Friday.
South Korea's Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon, during a meeting on Friday morning at the National Disaster and Safety Status Control Center, stressed the need for better management of the outbreak.
"African swine fever has spread in Paju, Gimpo, and Yeoncheon. We must look back on the past handlings and check if there was adequate management of those cases."
The Agriculture Ministry also decided to extend the 48-hour standstill on transporting pigs.
"To strengthen quarantine efforts near the inter-Korean border areas, the ministry has decided to extend the movement ban on pigs previously issued for Incheon, Gyeonggi-do Province and Gangwon-do Province by another 48 hours,... starting from 3:30 AM Friday."
The ministry will cull all pigs within a 3-kilometer radius of the infected farms in Gimpo and Paju.
For the pigs outside that radius, the government will buy the pigs off the farmers.
The pigs will then be sent to slaughterhouses where they will be tested before the meat is sold.
But in order to do this, farmers must register application forms for purchase to the respective cities in advance.
Kim Jae-hee, Arirang News.