The Democratic People's Republic of Korea(DPRK) has stepped up preventive measures against possible bird flu outbreaks, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Monday.

U Song-rim, director of the Central Veterinary and Anti-epizootic Center under the Ministry of Agriculture, told the KCNA that the DPRK has kept a close eye on the spread of bird flu across the world and is taking relevant measures.

All poultry farms have been ordered to vaccinate their birds against the deadly H5N1 virus, said the KCNA, adding that the migratory birds are under close watch for its prevention.

Farmers have also been instructed to keep their poultries indoors during the migration of wild birds, U said.

Meanwhile, the DPRK's border quarantine offices have stepped up measures to prevent the incursion of the virus from outside.

There has been no report of bird flu in the DPRK since early last spring, while neighbouring South Korea has culled nearly 100,000 chicken and ducks after an outbreak of the H5N1 strain at a chicken farm last week.

Source: Xinhua