Seoul believes Pyongyang raises some 2.6 million pigs across 14 state-run farms. The outbreak could worsen food shortages in the impoverished North, where, according to the World Food Programme, its output last year hit the lowest level since 2008. In the South, there are about 6,700 pig farms across the country, and pig farming accounts for 40 percent of the total livestock industry. In 2011, a devastating outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease hit the entire Korean peninsula and resulted in the culling of nearly 3.5 million cattle, pigs and other animals in South Korea alone. Last October a rare Asiatic black bear was photographed in the zone, Seoul's environmental ministry said.

Source: The Nation Bangkok June 01, 2019 09:11 UTC