South Korea dispatched two military transport aircraft to Myanmar on Wednesday to bring back 80,000 sets of surgical gowns for use in dealing with the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said.

The Air Force C-130J planes departed for the Southeast Asian nation from Gimhae airport, near the southeastern city of Busan, marking the first time that military planes have been mobilized to bring commercial goods into the country, the ministry said.

The planes are scheduled to return to Seoul's Gimpo International Airport early Thursday. Upon their arrival, the gowns, to be used at COVID-19 screening centers, will be transferred to medical facilities across the country, the ministry said.

The decision to use the military aircraft was made following the suspension of the national air carrier Korean Air's route connecting the two countries amid concerns over the virus.

The government has ruled out the possible use of private planes for their transportation as it would have taken at least two weeks for the necessary items to be delivered considering the clearance process, it said.

The two countries have agreed to a streamlined screening process for the pilots and crew members on board, after submitting certificates on their health status and under the condition to stay within the airfield to carry out the mission.

The items are part of 350,000 gowns the government has purchased from a South Korean company that runs a production line there, according to a foreign ministry official.

While most of the stock has been delivered, the government decided to secure the remainder via military transportation given the urgency around the spread of COVID-19.

The dispatch involves no evacuation of South Korean nationals, the official added.

Although there has been a marked decrease in the daily confirmed infection cases, South Korea is still on high alert to contain the pandemic through stepped-up measures to curb community spread and the inflow of the virus from overseas. (Yonhap)