(Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Han Ju-hong = The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters announced on the 4th that it will strengthen quarantine measures for pig farms nationwide. An outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) occurred at a pig farm in Changnyeong County, Gyeongnam Province, on this day. This is the first occurrence in the Gyeongnam region. Following outbreaks in Gangneung, Gangwon Province (16th of last month), Anseong, Gyeonggi Province (23rd of last month), Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province (24th of last month), and Yeonggwang, Jeonnam Province (26th of last month), ASF has also occurred in Gochang, Jeollabuk Province (1st of this month) and Boryeong, Chungnam Province (3rd of this month), and in Changnyeong, Gyeongnam Province (4th of this month), making a total of seven confirmed cases of ASF nationwide since the beginning of this year. At a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, Director of the Bureau of Quarantine Policy at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Lee Dong-sik, emphasized that "ASF has occurred in new regions where there were no cases of farm outbreaks or detections of wild boars, except for Pocheon" and "Given the risk of outbreaks nationwide, the quarantine situation is very serious." The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters plans to prohibit gatherings of pig farm workers and the illegal import and storage of livestock products ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, and to cooperate with related agencies and strengthen online monitoring to block the circulation and transaction of illegal livestock products from overseas. It is also decided to strengthen environmental inspections at slaughterhouses, which are of high concern for cross-contamination, and to conduct collective inspections of feed, additives, and raw materials. In cases of confirmed violations of quarantine regulations, the government plans to take strict measures such as reducing compensation for culling and claiming compensation. The director urged local governments to thoroughly disinfect and control access to pig farms to prevent the entry of the virus into farms, stating that "The government will mobilize all available means to block the entry of the virus into farms."