Change in Disease Status of the Republic of Korea With Regard to Foot-and-Mouth Disease and Rinderpest

On December 28, 2009, we published a final rule in the Federal Register to add the Republic of Korea to the list of regions that are considered free of rinderpest and foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) and the list of regions that are subject to certain import restrictions on meat and meat products because of their proximity to or trading relationships with rinderpest- or FMD-affected countries. The final rule was scheduled to become effective on January 12, 2010. However, due to an outbreak of FMD reported by the Republic of Korea on January 6, 2010, we are delaying indefinitely the effective date of the final rule. This delay will allow the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to consider the issues raised by this development and decide what subsequent actions to take.