Kim Jong-un’s Communist regime has a problem on its hands — or hooves, so to speak.
North Korea has requested assistance from the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization in dealing with an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease that has racked Pyongyang and its suburbs.
The website North Korean Watch reported that officials from the secretive regime met in Rome with members of the United Nations to request disinfectants, vaccines and personnel that could alleviate the problem.
North Korea has reported to the World Organization of Animal Health that the disease has infected 3,280 pigs in the nation’s capital and its surrounding suburbs, North Korea Watch reported.
Foot-and-mouth disease affects animals by causing fever and blisters around its tongue and lips, in and around the mouth. The virus affects animals’ mammary glands and hooves, and while it typically will not kill them it does severely diminish their ability to produce milk or gain weight.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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