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South Korea was on heightened alert Tuesday after authorities reported an outbreak of African Swine Fever at a pig farm in the country’s top pig-breeding region, Reuters reported.
Authorities raised the national alert level to “serious” after 1,423 pigs were culled due to the outbreak at a farm in Danjin, South Chungcheong province, the report said. Authorities were on the lookout for further infections at around 140 related farms, according to South Korea’s agriculture ministry.
The ministry also issued a 48-hour “standstill” order for all livestock facilities in the country in a bid to curb the risk of further spread. The report said the incident marked the sixth isolated outbreak of ASF in South Korea in 2025, but the first in the province – an area that hadn’t seen a previous outbreak.
South Korea was the fourth-largest importer of U.S. pork by value in 2024, according to Pork Checkoff.
China extends beef import probe
China extended a probe into beef imports by an additional two months to Jan. 26, Reuters reported Tuesday, giving global suppliers a longer reprieve from potential trade restrictions.
China’s commerce ministry cited “the complexity of the case” as the reason for the delay. It’s the second time the ministry has extended the investigation since it was launched last December, the report said. It comes as slowing demand has tightened the world’s largest market for beef imports and consumption. The investigation doesn’t target any specific countries, Reuters said.