hankyoreh

The location of the Puksang collective farm in Changang Province

African swine fever has erupted in North Korea. The South Korean government, which has embarked on an emergency review of the prevention situation, plans to initiate discussions with the North through the inter-Korean joint liaison office in Kaesong.

The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFRA) announced on May 31 that North Korea had reported the occurrence of African swine fever to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) on May 30.

According to an announcement from the OIE, one outbreak of African swine fever was reported in North Korea, having been reported by the Puksang collective farm in Usi County, Chagang Province, on May 23 and confirmed on May 25. The farm is located on the border with China’s Liaoning Province in northwestern North Korea.

Seventy-seven of 99 pigs at the farm died of African swine fever, while the remaining 22 were culled. As subsequent measures, North Korean reported that restrictions on movement were put in place, with forecasting of containment and protection areas; processing of the carcasses along with by-products and waste; culling; and sterilization.

In an emergency situation review meeting convened at 8 am on May 31 under the vice minister, MAFRA reviewed the prevention situation for the border region and discussed necessary measures to prevent the disease from spreading. As a next step, it plans to hold emergency meetings with the Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Unification, and other relevant agencies to discuss the situation and cooperative measures. Prime Minister Kim Nak-yeon planned to pay a visit on June 1 to the Imjin and Han River estuary regions to examine the border region prevention situation amid concerns of the fever being carried in by wild boars and other means.

African swine fever is a livestock disease with a 100% fatality rate with no vaccine to the virus responsible, which has a very high survival rate. It previously occurred only in Africa and Europe before spreading to reach China, Mongolia, and Vietnam and elsewhere during the second half of last year. The latest confirmation of the disease’s presence in North Korea means an even higher chance of it reaching the South.

“We plan to initiate discussions with the North through the inter-Korean joint liaison office in Kaesong in the near future,” Ministry of Unification deputy spokesperson Lee Yu-jin said in a regular briefing on May 31.

“We have communicated our intention of cooperating on the prevention of African swine fever several times to the North,” she added.

“The administration is prepared to pursue inter-Korean cooperation to prevent the spread of African swine fever within North Korea and will be undertaking concrete preparations as the discussions with the North proceed,” she said.

In an unusual development, the Rodong Sinmun newspaper published three articles in its May 31 edition under the heading “African swine fever raises international fears” following the official report of African swine fever to OIE by North Korean authorities the previous day. In articles titled “High Incidence Rate, Different Propagation Pathways,” “No Effective Prevention Measures Yet Found,” and “Serious After Effects,” the newspaper provided accurate information on the disease, noting that it was spreading rapidly in China and Vietnam and that no vaccine exists. But the report did not mention that African swine fever had been found in Chagang Province.

By Park Ki-yong, staff reporter

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]