TOKYO, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Japanese government has decided to suspend poultry imports from South Korea due to fear of bird flu virus, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki said on Friday.

    The South Korean Agriculture and Forestry Ministry released on Thursday the fact that some 6,000 chickens on a farm died in four days ending Wednesday, likely sufferers of the deadly H5N1 virus.

    Shiozaki said travelers from South Korea will be asked to disinfect the soles of their shoes on arriving in Japan as a preventive measure.