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Updated February 25th, 2020 at 07:35 IST

Coronavirus may impact US-SKorea military moves

The United States and South Korea are considering curtailing joint military exercises due to concerns about the spread of coronavirus, officials said Monday.

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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 U.S. 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 was a threat to their schedule of military exercises.

The exercises are held periodically throughout the year and are intended to prepare troops and commanders for potential combat against North Korea.

Esper said the top South Korean and American commanders in Seoul "are looking at scaling back" some training exercises "due to concerns about the coronavirus."

Jeong said the coronavirus situation in his country is "quite serious" and has compelled authorities to limit the movement of troops, which makes it more difficult to conduct exercises with American forces. He said there have been 13 confirmed coronavirus cases in the South Korean military.

News reports said that South Korea's government banned major rallies in its capital and declared a health emergency. Officials said 100 new cases were reported Friday, bringing the country's total to 204

In their remarks to reporters, Esper and Jeong left no doubt that their governments are stuck in a difficult standoff over the U.S. demand for an unusually large increase in South Korea's share of the cost of maintaining U.S. forces on the peninsula.

Negotiations have reached a standstill. Jeong said a U.S. threat to furlough Korean workers who support U.S. forces is "a very difficult pill to swallow."

Over the years, the amount that Seoul pays for the presence of about 28,000 U.S. troops has varied, and most recently it was almost $1 billion. But the latest agreement between the two countries expired at the end of last year, and a new pact has not been approved.

News reports have said the Trump administration is demanding a five-fold increase in South Korean contributions, to about $4.7 billion for 2020, but officials have not publicly confirmed the specifics.

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Published February 25th, 2020 at 07:35 IST

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