The foot-and-mouth disease has reared its ugly head once again in South Korea. Tens of thousands of pigs have been slaughtered in the country as the dreaded disease has shown signs of spreading. The outbreak is more pronounced in pig farms close to Seoul. Hundreds of troops have been mobilised for the mass slaughter. About 60,000 more pigs near Anseong, which is close to Seoul, were killed to check the situation.The agriculture ministry has ordered the slaughter of pigs in all farms within three kilometres of the affected ones. The government has shut 77 of the country's 106 livestock markets. The Philippines, China and Japan have banned imports of South Korean pork and beef.
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