Seoul - South Korea said yesterday that about 350,000 head of cattle would be slaughtered in a 20 km radius from the point where the country's first outbreak of a livestock disease emerged. Local media said the task would cost the government 100 billion won (£74 million), but the government said the figure was speculative.
The government will either purchase the cattle to be slaughtered and sell the meat in the market, if it turns out to be uninfected, or compensate farmers for any losses if they have to kill the cattle themselves, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry officials said.