Cases of the highly contagious foot-and-mouth disease were spreading across South Korea despite containment efforts by animal quarantine authorities, the government said Thursday.

The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said it confirmed the seventh and eighth cases of the animal disease this month at a pig farm in the country's interior and at a small cattle and goat farm west of Seoul.

The animals at the farm in Chungju, 147 kilometers from the capital city, started showing symptoms late Wednesday, prompting quarantine officials to seal off the farm and limit movement of people and vehicles as a precautionary measure.

The farm raises 1,000 pigs with some animals showing symptoms such as blisters and scabs on the teats and tongue.

The Chungju outbreak marks the first time this year that the disease has been reported in the South Korean central province of North Chungcheong and is a sign that the virus has spread beyond the Gyeonggi region in the country's northwest.