WASHINGTON, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- The United States and South Korea are weighing scaling back upcoming joint military exercises due to growing concerns over the novel coronavirus outbreak, said U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Monday.
Esper made the remark at a joint press conference with visiting South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo at the Pentagon.
The Pentagon chief said the two sides "are looking at scaling back the command post training due to concerns about the coronavirus."
Echoing Esper's remarks, Jeong said the combined exercises may have to be "curtailed."
South Korea confirmed 60 more cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, raising the total number of infections to 893. The country raised its four-tier virus alert to the highest "red" level on Sunday.
