Kill that Flu, and Feed that Swine

Kim Jong-il during his inspection tour of the Taedonggang Combinded Fruit Farm. Jang Song-thaek (second from the right) shares a good laugh with KJI. Was General-Secretary Kim issuing instructions on plant diseases or had he just detailed the new currency policy? (Photo: KCNA)

Kim Jong-il is on the hunt for swine flu and other livestock-based diseases that find a way to pass from animals to humans.

A Yonhap report noted that on his recent visit to a Pyongyang pig farm General Secretary Kim “underscored the need for breeding pig farms and other farms to build a sufficient number of anti-epidemic facilities and thoroughly establish a strict anti-epidemic system.”  This was not the first guidance or inspection tour when Kim Jong-il referred to such diseases.   The KCBS report of General-Secretary Kim’s visit to the Sinuiju Chicken Farm found  “Comrade Kim Jong-il pointed out that the chicken farm shold adequately build anti-epizootic facilities and should establish a strict anti-epizootic system because veterinary and anti-epizootic work is a life-or-death matter in livestock farming.”