S. Korea to Import North Korean Chicken
SOUTH KOREA - A South Korean trading firm will import North Korean chicken on Thursday for sale to consumers. Porky Trading Korea (PTK) said yesterday that it has obtained approval from the government for the import of about 40 tons of North Korean chicken through the inter-Korean trade route in the Yellow Sea.`` We plan to import about 2,000 tons of chicken from North Korea this year,’’ PTK president Lee Suk-doo said. ``We will import 40 tons on a weekly basis. The first shipment is to made this week.’’
Inter-Korean trade has been growing for the past few years in the manufacturing sector, but it is the first time for South Korea to import poultry from North Korea.
The Seoul-based PTK will begin sale of the imported chicken to South Korean buyers after completing sanitary tests, which will take about one month, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.
``The chicken will be supplied to chicken processors, large sales outlets and small poultry stores nationwide,’’ a ministry official said.
Ministry officials said a South Korean team visited chicken farms in North Korea in October to inspect the general farming environment and slaughterhouses. The experts found no sanitary problems for the consumption of the chicken, they said.
Source: The Korea Times