North Korea has requested United Nations assistance in halting the spread of foot-and-mouth disease, a news report published by the Washington, D.C. based Radio Free Asia (RFA) said on Tuesday.

The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization(FAO) told RFA that North Korea made an official request for help on Monday and that a meeting had been held at their headquarters in Rome to discuss how best to help Pyongyang respond.

The UN agency told RFA that following the meeting – which included discussions with North Korean representatives – it would be dispatching an assessment team to North Korea and following up