About 200 soldiers helped kill more than 310,000 chickens and other poultry in the southeastern city of Yangsan hit by the H5N1 virus, the agriculture ministry said.

Hundreds of soldiers had already been deployed to help destroy infected birds, but were called back to their barracks last month after one soldier showed possible bird flu symptoms. He was later found to be healthy.

South Korea has been battling its latest outbreak of avian flu since April 1. The agriculture ministry has since reported 42 cases of bird flu at 33 places around the country.

No human infections have been confirmed in South Korea even though the H5N1 virus has killed more than 240 people worldwide since late 2003.

But the discovery of the H5N1 strain in the capital Seoul and other major cities has fuelled fears of possible human victims.

The government is restricting the distribution and sale of live poultry for human consumption. It has already banned the butchering of chickens and other poultry at traditional markets.

In the country's 2003-2004 outbreak, 5.28 million birds were culled while a 2006-2007 outbreak resulted in 2.8 million birds being destroyed. -- AFP