The government will release its final test results on Sunday over whether the new AI case reported on a chicken farm in Pyeongtaek, another city in Gyeonggi Province, is also highly pathogenic.

A 24-hour standstill order on poultry, equipment and livestock breeders has been in effect since late Friday.

Quarantine officials have culled 145,000 chickens as part of preventive measures. They plan to slaughter another 200,000 from two other farms located within a 500-meter radius.

Since the first outbreak of highly pathogenic AI in November, South Korea has confirmed 11 bird flu cases and culled 1.46 million ducks and chickens. The majority of outbreaks occurred in Jeolla Province in the country's southwest, a major duck farming region. (Yonhap)