Avian influenza has returned to North Korea only one year after its last encounter with the disease.

Citing the North’s Agriculture Ministry, North Korean state run media reported on Wednesday that a chicken farm in the capital city of Pyongyang reported a case of avian influenza on March 21.

KCNA said that the virus was confirmed as the H5N1 virus, adding that the highly contagious virus is spreading to other poultry farms. The report said that thousands of chickens have been culled or died as a result of the disease.

North Korea previously experienced a bout with AI in April of last year.