FMD confirmed to spread to north of Seoul

The government reported two additional cases of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) at pig farms north of Seoul on Wednesday, fueling worries over a nationwide spread of the disease that was first reported in a city located hundreds of kilometers south of the capital.

The additional cases were confirmed at farms in Yangju and Yeoncheon, according to the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

"The farms have about 1,200 pigs each and are owned by the same farmer," it said.

The outbreak of the animal disease was first reported Nov. 29 at two pig farms in Andong, a city located 270 kilometers southeast of Seoul.

The cases in Yangju and Yeoncheon, both north of Seoul, mark the first cases of the disease outside of North Gyeongsang Province.

So far, South Korea has reported 48 suspected cases of FMD, 32 of which have been confirmed positive.

The government is further stepping up its quarantine efforts, already having destroyed nearly 98 percent of more than 152,000 animals subject to culling, according to the ministry.

South Korea stayed clear of the animal disease from 2002 until the beginning of this year. The disease affects all cloven-hoofed animals, including cows, sheep and deer. Countries affected by the disease are barred from exporting meat from animals with cloven hoofs though the disease does not affect humans.