South Korean quarantine authorities have begun culling thousands of pigs in Yeoncheon County in Gyeonggi Province after a second case of African swine fever(ASF) was confirmed on Wednesday. 

An official of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said during a media briefing that all pigs that were being bred within a three kilometer radius from the Yeoncheon farm in question will be destroyed.  

Under standard operating procedures, when an ASF case is confirmed, only areas within 500 meters from the outbreak site are subject to compulsory culling. 

Six cities and counties in northern Gyeonggi Province, including Paju and Yeoncheon, have been designated as special management zones as part of efforts to contain the spread of the highly infectious animal disease. 

Authorities also culled pigs at farms in Paju on Tuesday after it was confirmed that a farm in the city was infected with ASF.