A South Korean employee of US Forces Korea has tested positive for the new coronavirus, bringing the total number of USFK-related infection cases to seven, the military said Friday. The seventh patient marks the first coronavirus case reported at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, where the USFK headquarters is located. She is now in isolation at her off-base residence in the central city of Cheonan, according to USFK. She visited a cafe and a post exchange in the base on Feb. 26 a

A South Korean employee of US Forces Korea has tested positive for the new coronavirus, bringing the total number of USFK-related infection cases to seven, the military said Friday. The seventh patient is now in isolation at her off-base residence in the central city of Cheonan, according to USFK. "KCDC and USFK health professionals are actively conducting contact tracing to determine whether anyone else may have been exposed," it said. KCDC stands for the Korea Centers for Disease

The military reported no additional cases of the new coronavirus among service personnel for the second straight day on Friday, with the total number of infections remaining unchanged at 34, the defense ministry said. Of the total COVID-19 cases, 19 were in the Army, 11 in the Air Force, two in the Marine Corps and one each in the Navy and a unit under the direct control of the ministry, it said. Around 5,020 service members are quarantined at their bases. Of them, around 820 have either show

Three more service personnel tested positive for the new coronavirus, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the military to 34 on Wednesday, the defense ministry said. Two of the new COVID-19 cases were from the Army -- a rank-and-file soldier and an officer in Yongin, 50 kilometers south of Seoul -- and the other was an officer at a unit under the direct control of the ministry in the central city of Daejeon, it said. Of the total, 19 were in the Army, 11 in the Air Force, two in

A grenade exploded on a Navy vessel during a maritime firing drill off the southern coast on Tuesday, wounding seven sailors, two of them seriously, the Navy said. The explosion occurred for unidentified reasons at around 12:20 p.m. on the 130-ton Chamsuri-class patrol killer boat affiliated with the Third Fleet in waters near Geoje Island, according to the Navy. Two were wounded seriously, though the injuries are not life-threatening, while five others sustained light wounds, the Navy said

A batch of newly commissioned nursing officers headed to Daegu on Tuesday, the southeastern city hit hardest by the novel coronavirus, to help treat a skyrocketing number of infected patients. Commissioned as lieutenants a week earlier than scheduled, the 75 officers will work at the military’s hospital in Daegu, one of several national centers treating COVID-19. “Patients come before me,” Lt. Kim Seul-gi said. She was one of the officers attending the graduation ceremony for

WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon has sent additional medical personnel and equipment to its troops in South Korea to help fight the coronavirus outbreak there, US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley said Monday. Milley said the personnel and supplies were sent at Secretary of Defense Mark Esper's direction and included masks, gloves and gowns. "Priority distribution" is going to South Korea, he said at a joint press briefing with Esper. The general noted that the allies have

Twenty-seven members of the South Korean military tested positive for COVID-19 as of Sunday, as 8,880 service members have been quarantined. Infected personnel included soldiers, officers and civilian workers; Fifteen of them were in the Army and 10 were in the Air Force, with one each in the Navy and Marine Corps. The military has taken the precaution of an expanded quarantine to curb COVID-19 since it identified the first patient on Feb. 20. The total number of infected patients from Unite

South Korea hopes to address first the issue of the upkeep of Korean employees for United States Forces Korea, as negotiations on defense cost sharing between the two allies drag on, Seoul’s chief negotiator said Friday.  “We offered the US a side deal to sign to cover the costs for Korean national employees at USFK, just in case we don’t wrap up a new Special Measures Agreement on time,” Jeong Eun-bo said, referring to the cost-sharing deal. The final agreement wo

A South Korean employee at an American military base in the southeastern county of Chilgok has tested positive for the new coronavirus, US Forces Korea said, bringing the total number of USFK-related virus cases to three. The Korean national, who works at Camp Carroll, has been in isolation at a hospital in the neighboring city of Daegu, USFK said in a release updated on its website on Thursday. He had been self-quarantined since his wife tested positive for COVID-19 Saturday, it added. Chilg

A total of 27 military personnel had tested positive for COVID-19 as of Friday, and 10,400 service members had been quarantined, the Ministry of National Defense said. Infected personnel included soldiers, officers and civilian workers; Fifteen of the patients were in the Army, and ten were in the Air Force, with one each in the Navy and Marine Corps. The military had taken the precaution of an expanded quarantine to curb COVID-19. The total number of infected patients from United States Forc

US Forces Korea has issued a 30-day advance notice of potential furlough to its South Korean employees, it said Friday, in an apparent move to further pressure Seoul over defense cost-sharing negotiations. South Korea and the United States have been engaged in talks over how much Seoul should pay for the upkeep of the 28,500-strong USFK under their cost-sharing deal, the Special Measures Agreement (SMA), but have yet to reach a deal. "Their loss will have an impact on readiness," U

South Korea and the US postponed their annual joint military exercises Thursday, following a coronavirus outbreak that has sickened about 1,800 and killed 13 people in Korea, as of Thursday afternoon. The drills scheduled for March were put off until further notice for the safety of all service members, according to the joint statement from Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff and United States Forces Korea on Thursday. It was the first time the annual war game was postponed over an infectious d

Defense Minister Jeong Kyeog-doo has said that the cancellation of a single combined exercise between South Korea and the United States would not affect their joint readiness posture, according to his ministry. He made the remarks while visiting US National Defense University on Wednesday (Washington time), ahead of an expected announcement by the two sides on the possible modification of their combined exercises slated for March due to concerns over the new coronavirus. "Different from

South Korea and the United States decided to postpone their springtime joint military exercises over growing concerns about the spread of the new coronavirus, their combined command said Thursday. The two sides had initially planned to stage their computer-simulated combined command post training in March but decided to put it off "until further notice" in light of Seoul's decision to raise its alert rating to "severe," the highest level, over COVID-19, according to the Com