South Korea today confirmed three new cases of foot-and-mouth disease, bringing the total to 56 since the country's worst outbreak began a month ago. The Agriculture Ministry said, about 160,000 animals were slaughtered during the previous worst outbreak in 2002. President Lee Myung-Bak has urged officials to provide maximum support to farmers and health officials fighting the disease, including offering gloves, earmuffs and other cold weather gear. Foot-and-mouth disease affects cloven-hoofed animals such as cattle, pigs, deer, goats and sheep.