NEWS BRIEF

[Anchor Lead]

The Bank of Korea decided to freeze the benchmark interest rate at the current 1.25 percent at a meeting of its monetary policy board this morning. This decision went against predictions that it might vote for a rate cut amid the prolonged COVID-19 outbreak.
South Korean and the U.S. have decided to postpone joint military drills originally scheduled for early March due to the ongoing viral outbreak. The two sides announced the postponement in a joint news briefing today, explaining that the decision is in line with Seoul's recent upgrade of the COVID-19 alert level to the highest.
As part of efforts to help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, North Korea has postponed the opening of the new semester for kindergartens and schools across the nation. The North's official Korean Central Broadcasting Station reported today that education and quarantine campaigns are actively underway at all schools from child care centers to colleges. It added that vacation has been extended to block the outbreak.
Another group of Korean expatriates evacuated from Wuhan were discharged from a two-week quarantine today, after testing negative for the novel coronavirus. A total of 148 Korean nationals and their family members with Chinese citizenship were housed at the Korean Defense Language Institute in Icheon, Gyeonggi-do Province, from February 12.