Seoul, Jan 11 (NationPress) South Korea has implemented an import restriction on German pork as of Saturday, due to an outbreak of the highly contagious foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in Germany, as stated by the agriculture ministry.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs indicated that this action follows Germany's report of its first case of FMD since 1988.

FMD is known to be one of the most infectious diseases affecting cloven-hoofed animals, including cattle and pigs, and can spread swiftly if not managed properly, as reported by the Yonhap news agency.

The ministry is set to perform FMD virus tests on German pork products that have arrived in South Korea since December 27.

Currently, around 360 tons of German pork, which was shipped between October 26 and November 17, is pending quarantine inspection.

The ministry has confirmed that it will follow standard clearance procedures for these products due to the maximum incubation period for the FMD virus being 14 days.

In addition, South Korea has reported two more cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (AI) on Monday, bringing the total number of outbreaks this season to 23, according to authorities.

The recent cases were found at a broiler breeder farm located in Dangjin, which is 79 kilometers south of Seoul, and at a meat duck farm in Buan, situated 204 kilometers south of the capital, as per the central disaster management headquarters for AI outbreaks.

Officials are currently monitoring 69 poultry farms located within the quarantine zones of the two affected farms to curb any further spread, as reported by the anti-disaster office.