South Korea said Wednesday North Korea has so far ignored its calls for joint efforts to stem the spread of highly contagious African swine fever following an outbreak near North Korea's border with China. South Korea's agricultural ministry said that blood tests of pigs from some 340 farms near the inter-Korean border conducted through Tuesday came back negative. But the lack of bilateral cooperation renders South Korea helpless in preventing the disease from reaching North Korean farms near the border. North Korean state media in recent weeks have published several articles detailing the spread of African swine fever across Asia, but none of them so far has specifically mentioned that the disease has reached the North. South Korea is also tightening control at harbors and airports, while imposing a 5 million won ($4,200) fine on travelers who fail to report food products containing pork after visiting countries dealing with African swine fever.

Source: ABC News June 05, 2019 03:33 UTC