N. Korea’s First Admission of Avian Flu: “Hundreds of Thousands of Chickens Destroyed In North Korea”

On March 27, the Korean Central News Agency acknowledged the outbreak of avian flu in North Korea for the first time. It reported that “recently, bird flu has broken out at two or three chicken processing factories, including Hadang Chicken Processing Factory in Pyongyang. Hundreds of thousands of infected chickens have been buried and burned.”

The central news agency added, “On the heels of the outbreak, the National Emergency Commission for the Prevention of Veterinary Diseases began offering emergency measures to stop the disease from spreading, while carrying out preventive programs.” The agency went on to say, “To date, there has been no case of bird-to-human transmission.”

Meanwhile, the South Korean government speculated, “It is likely that North Korea made the outbreak public because it concluded that it cannot contain the epidemic with its own preventive system alone. It is likely that the country is calling for international help,” it said.

taewon_ha@donga.com