South Korea's Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs says that vaccinations for foot-and-mouth disease(FMD) will be administered in September - a month quicker than initially planned.

The ministry pulled the date forward as the record heat has slowed the growth of pigs, causing the animal's formation of antibodies to be delayed and thus postponing the distribution to the market.

Farms subject to the vaccination include those where the non-structural proteins (NSP) of the FMD virus were detected this year and all farms in 38 cities and counties nationwide where FMD was reported since 2014.

For stable supply of vaccines and more diversified imports, the ministry said it has designated two new types of vaccines from Russia and Argentina after holding consultations with experts and quarantine officials.

Until now, vaccines from the British manufacturer Merial have mainly been used.