At least 31 members of the South Korean military have been infected with the novel coronavirus, the country's defense ministry announced today.

The majority of the cases are in the army, where 17 people are infected, with 11 cases in the air force, two in the marines and one in the navy.

The total number of confirmed cases in South Korea is 4,812, including the 31 military cases. The nation's death toll is 29.

Military exercises postponed: The coronavirus put annual exercises between the US and South Korea on hold late February.

The US military in South Korea announced that “in light of the Republic of Korea government's declaration of the highest alert level 'severe' on COVID-19, the ROK-US Alliance made the decision to postpone the combined command post training for the ROK-US Combined Forces Command until further notice”, according to a statement released by the US Combined Forces Command in South Korea on February 27.

“(Our) commitment to the ROK-US alliance remains ironclad and unbreakable."