Army chief shares coronavirus experience with foreign military leaders

SEOUL, May 20 (Yonhap) -- Army Chief of Staff Gen. Suh Wook shared the military's experience responding to the new coronavirus with foreign commanders during a video conference Wednesday and pledged continued cooperation in fighting unconventional security threats, his office said.

On the first day of the two-day Indo-Pacific Landpower Conference, which kicked off earlier in the day, the general discussed South Korea's experience conducting a massive training exercise during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Army.

"Based on the awareness that maintaining a combat readiness posture through education and training is the basic mission of the military, we safely and successfully completed a regiment-level training at the Korea Combat Training Center in April, and are also gradually holding other field tactical trainings," Suh said.

Last month, the Army launched a two-week field training involving some 4,500 service members with strict quarantine measures in place.

As of early Tuesday, the military had 51 coronavirus cases reported in barracks.

"South Korea, as a country that experienced the spread of COVID-19 before others, has accumulated much experience and information regarding quarantine strategies and education and training," Suh said. "The Army will actively share this information with the international community, and continue cooperation against unconventional threats."

Hosted by the U.S. Army Pacific, Army chief-of-staff level officers from 26 countries took part in the videoconference.

scaaet@yna.co.kr
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