New FMD Outbreak

A view of Rihyon-ri in Pyongyang, where the DPRK media reported its first outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) occurred in December 2010 (Google image)

According to the DPRK government’s own reporting to international organizations, the country saw new cases of foot-and-mouth disease [FMD] in late Febraury and March.  Yonhap reports:

A new outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) occurred in four counties in North Korea last month [March] and infected nearly 300 pigs and cows, a news report said Wednesday.

A total of 141 out of 298 animals died after being infected with the disease, the Voice of America said, citing a North Korean report submitted to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) on Monday. The news report said Pyongyang quarantined the infected areas in an apparent attempt to stem the spread of the disease.

The North confirmed its first case of the disease in December, and the virus has since spread to six other cities and provinces, Seoul’s Agriculture Minister Yoo Jeong-bok said in February.

Vice Premier of the Cabinet, Kim Rak-hu'i (Kim Rak Hui), was tasked in January 2011 to manage the government's response to FMD