SEOUL -- South Korea's trade ministry said Thursday that its director general-level official will hold trade talks with his Japanese counterpart this week in Switzerland over Japan's export curbs on South Korea, which caused trade spat and led Seoul to file a complaint against Tokyo with the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The meeting between the director general-level trade officials from the two countries will be held in Geneva Friday (Switzerland time), according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

It would be the first procedure of the WTO dispute settlement since South Korea filed the complaint with the WTO against Japan on Sept. 11. (South Korea-Japan-Trade Talks)

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SEOUL -- South Korea issued a 48-hour standstill order on Thursday after confirming the 14th case of African swine fever the previous day, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

The 14th outbreak was found at a pig farm in Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi province, after a hiatus of five days. The county is located north of the capital Seoul, adjacent to the border with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

Following the confirmation, the agriculture ministry issued a standstill order, which would be effective on Thursday and Friday, in a bid to ban all pigs, relevant equipment and people at pig farms from moving outside. (South Korea-African Swine Fever)

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WELLINGTON -- Minister of Health of New Zealand David Clark said Thursday that this year's World Mental Health Day theme is a reminder of why the government's work on mental health is so important and New Zealand is committed to taking mental health seriously, to reduce its record high rate of suicide.

"This year the World Federation for Mental Health has made suicide prevention the main theme of this important day," David Clark said. "This Government is committed to taking mental health seriously. We made a record 1.9 billion New Zealand dollars (1.2 billion U.S. dollars) investment into mental health and addiction in Budget 2019 and have a range of actions underway to reduce New Zealand's high rate of suicide."

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Health Minister David Clark jointly released on Sept. 10 Every Life Matters -- The Suicide Prevention Strategy 2019-2029 and Action Plan 2019-2024. (New Zealand-Mental Health) Enditem

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