The US and South Korean militaries on Thursday postponed forthcoming joint exercises due to the coronavirus outbreak, they said, as the Asian country reported 334 new cases, taking its total to 1,595.

The decision to delay the training was made after Seoul declared its highest "severe" alert level over the virus, Combined Forces Command said, adding the postponement was "until further notice".

The United States has 28,500 troops in South Korea to protect it against the nuclear-armed North, many of them based south of Seoul at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek -- Washington's biggest overseas military facility.

The security allies have previously scaled back their annual joint military exercises significantly to facilitate nuclear talks with Pyongyang -- which condemns such drills as preparations for an invasion -- but a command coordination exercise had been planned for this spring.

South Korea has the highest number of virus cases in the world outside China, where the disease first emerged in December.

No new deaths had occurred, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement, with the toll at 12.

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Coronavirus threatens North Korea chaos: analysts
Seoul (AFP) Feb 21, 2020
North Korea's self-imposed isolation in the face of the coronavirus epidemic raging in neighbouring China is its only method of protection from an outbreak that would wreak havoc given its crumbling health system, analysts say. The country was among the first to seal its border with China - its main provider of trade and aid - and has since suspended flights and train services, banned tourists, and imposed 30 days of quarantine on resident foreigners. Authorities insist they are in control, wi ... read more