Military has 27 infected, 10,400 quarantined

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

Feb. 28, 2020

USFK issues advance furlough notice to Korean employees amid little progress in defense cost talks

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

Feb. 28, 2020

ROK-US military drills delayed amid virus concerns

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

Feb. 27, 2020

Cancellation of single exercise would not affect Korea-US joint posture: defense chief

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

Feb. 27, 2020

S. Korea, US decide to postpone upcoming combined exercises over coronavirus concerns: CFC

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

Feb. 27, 2020

ROK-US military drills scaled back

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

Feb. 26, 2020

USFK service member confirmed with coronavirus

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

Feb. 26, 2020

Defense ministry shuts down pressroom, briefing room over coronavirus concerns

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

Feb. 25, 2020

COVID-19 found in USFK widow

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

Feb. 25, 2020

US flies surveillance plane over Korean peninsula

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

Feb. 25, 2020

USFK imposes tougher process for installation access over coronavirus outbreak

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

Feb. 25, 2020

Esper urges S. Korea to pay more for combined defense

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

Feb. 25, 2020

US and S. Korea may cut back military moves due to coronavirus

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

Feb. 25, 2020

Military has 13 infected, 7,500 quarantined

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

Feb. 24, 2020

11 soldiers confirmed as coronavirus patients, 7,700 in quarantine

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

Feb. 24, 2020

US says 'most' S. Korean workers to be furloughed if no defense deal is reached

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

Feb. 24, 2020

USFK says it has no case of COVID-19 among its personnel

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

Feb. 23, 2020

6 soldiers infected, 1,300 quarantined

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

Feb. 23, 2020

Military fighting coronavirus after first armed forces infections confirmed

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

Feb. 21, 2020

Military to restrict draftees from vacationing, staying outside bases over coronavirus

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

Feb. 21, 2020