South Korea’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced Thursday cases of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) at local farms, marking the first occurrence in over four years. The affected farms are located in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. All cattle at the affected farms will be culled to contain the spread of the highly infectious disease.

In response to these cases, the ministry issued a nationwide 48-hour movement restriction order on all animal farms and associated facilities and initiated intensive quarantine procedures in adjacent cities. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo ordered the ministry to work with other government agencies to implement quarantine measures in line with emergency action guidelines, such as the prompt culling of affected livestock, stringent access control, comprehensive inspections and thorough disinfection procedures.