South Korea and the US decided to scale back the annual joint military drills scheduled to begin within the next several days, as the COVID-19 outbreak in Korea affected their military operations, CNN reported, quoting three US officials. The two allies were set to take part in the command post exercises that begins March 9. The exercises test the combat readiness of top commanders and senior staff of both sides in computer-based war games against North Korea. Seoul and Washington have held the

An American soldier stationed in the southeastern South Korean town of Chilgok tested positive for the new coronavirus, US Forces Korea said Wednesday, marking the first case among USFK service personnel. The 23-year-old soldier at Camp Carroll is currently in self-quarantine at his off-base residence, according to USFK. Chilgok, about 220 kilometers southeast of Seoul, is near the city of Daegu, where a coronavirus outbreak has spread rapidly in recent days. It is the first time that a USF

The Defense Ministry on Tuesday said it has temporarily shut down its pressroom and briefing room for anti-coronavirus disinfection work after a cameraman with a local news outlet was admitted to a hospital with symptoms of the virus. In a notice to reporters, the ministry said the facilities on the first floor of the ministry‘s main building in Seoul will be closed until Wednesday as a precaution against the COVID-19 virus. The cameraman, who had been in the pressroom and briefing roo

United States Forces Korea said Tuesday that the widow of one of its service members tested positive for COVID-19 after she had visited a military base in Daegu. The patient, 61, is the first individual linked to USFK to test positive for the virus. Two weeks ago, she visited twice the post exchange at Camp Walker, one of three American installations in Daegu, where infections recently skyrocketed because of mass gatherings at a Shincheonji church. USFK raised the risk level to “high&rd

The United States has flown a surveillance aircraft over South Korea, an aviation tracker said Tuesday, on an apparent mission to monitor North Korea. The US Navy P-3C maritime surveillance plane was spotted in the skies over the peninsula on Monday, Aircraft Spots tweeted. It is the latest in a series of US operations seemingly aimed at monitoring the North after the communist nation warned of a "new strategic weapon" and "shocking actual action" against the US. Denucle

US Forces Korea (USFK) has limited all service members' off-installation travel and implemented a tougher process for accessing garrisons following the first coronavirus case among its members. On Monday, a 61-year-old USFK widowed dependent residing in the southeastern city of Daegu tested positive for COVID-19, prompting the US military to raise the risk level to "high" from "moderate" across the country that calls for stronger countermeasures. "Expect longer wait

WASHINGTON -- US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Monday that South Korea can and should contribute more to its defense in terms of financial contributions to the upkeep of American troops on the peninsula. Esper, speaking at a joint news conference after talks with South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo, also said that the two countries are considering scaling back combined military exercises due to concerns about the new coronavirus spreading in the South. "General Abrams and

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The United States and South Korea are considering curtailing joint military exercises due to concerns about the spread of coronavirus, officials said Monday. After a meeting at the Pentagon to review a full range of issues, including a standoff over US demands that Seoul pay a much bigger share of the cost of hosting American forces, Defense Secretary Mark Esper and South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo told reporters that coronavirus is a threat to their schedule o

A total of 13 military personnel tested positive for COVID-19, and 7,500 service members were under quarantine as of Monday, the Ministry of National Defense said. Infected personnel included soldiers, officers and civilian workers; Ten of the patients were in the Army, while the Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps had one each. The military was notified of its first patient Thursday, when a Navy sailor stationed on Jeju Island contracted the virus after visiting Daegu, one of two COVID-19 clus

Eleven service members have been confirmed to have the new coronavirus as of early Monday, and around 7,700 others are quarantined as part of efforts to stop the virus from spreading further into barracks, the defense ministry said. Eight COVID-19 cases in the Army and one each in the Navy, the Air Force and the Marine Corps were confirmed as of 8 a.m. Monday, up from a total of seven cases the previous day, according to the ministry. The four newly confirmed soldiers are suspected of having

The United States will furlough "most" South Korean nationals employed at its military bases on the peninsula if no defense cost-sharing deal is reached by the beginning of April, the Pentagon said Sunday. In a rare "media advisory" previewing Monday's meeting in Washington between South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and US Defense Secretary Mark Esper, the Pentagon said the pair will discuss a range of bilateral issues, including the regional security environmen

The US Forces Korea said Sunday that it has no confirmed case of the new coronavirus among its personnel despite an increase in the number of South Korean patients. In an updated report on its efforts to fend off the COVID-19 virus, the 28,500-strong USFK said that the risk for its personnel and installations on the Korean Peninsula remains "moderate." On the day, South Korea's death toll from the virus increased to five with the number of confirmed cases rising to 602. "USFK

A total of six military personnel were confirmed to be infected with COVID-19 as of Sunday, and 1,300 service members were quarantined, the Ministry of National Defense said. All six of the infected individuals, including two officers and one civilian worker, were found to have visited either Daegu or adjacent North Gyeongsang Province. The surge in cases of COVID-19 linked to church services there brought the national tally to 602 as of Sunday afternoon. “More and more soldiers are susp

The military is making all-out efforts to prevent the new coronavirus from spreading further into the barracks, officials said Friday, after the country's first infections in the armed forces were confirmed. Earlier in the day, a Navy sailor on the southern island of Jeju was confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 in the first such case among service personnel here. Following the confirmation, the Navy has checked the temperature of all personnel at the base where the infected sailor served a

South Korea will start restricting all enlisted soldiers from vacationing, staying outside their bases and meeting visitors this weekend, the defense ministry said Thursday, after the Navy reported the first suspected coronavirus case among the country's service members. The restrictions, set to go into effect on Saturday, came at a meeting of top defense and uniformed officials, which was presided over by Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo. "Based on the recommendations from each armed s