US and South Korea may scale back joint military exercises over coronavirus fears [View all]

https://www.militarytimes.com/flashpoints/2020/02/25/us-and-south-korean-may-scale-back-joint-military-exercises-over-coronavirus-fears/

US and South Korea may scale back joint military exercises over coronavirus fears

Shawn Snow and Diana Stancy Correll

Secretary of Defense Mark Esper told reporters at the Pentagon Monday that some command post joint exercises with South Korea could be scaled back due to precautions being taken over the rapidly-spreading coronavirus.

South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo echoed Esper’s sentiments during a joint briefing held at the Pentagon Monday and said that the combined exercises may have to be “curtailed.”

Jeong explained that the spread of the virus has grown more “serious by the day” and that movement between South Korean military units was limited.

The South Korean defense minister said U.S. Forces Korea commander Gen. Abe Abrams and Gen. Park Han-Ki, Republic of Korea chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, were working on the issue and would “make the right decision.”
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