U.S. voices support for S. Korea in fight against MERS outbreak

U.S. National Security Adviser Susan Rice underscored the American support for South Korea to counter the outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), the White House said on Tuesday.

In her meeting with South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-Se in Washington on Monday, Rice offered condolences to the families of those who have lost their lives during the MERS outbreak, Ned Price, a spokesperson for the National Security Council, said in a statement.

South Korea reported four new cases of MERS infection on Tuesday, bringing the total number of infection cases to 154, according to the country's Ministry of Health and Welfare. Nineteen people have died from the virus.

In the meeting, Rice and Yun also affirmed their strong commitment to the U.S.-South Korea alliance and discussed a broad range of bilateral, regional, and global issues, Price said.

In particular, the two officials discussed the joint efforts to counter the nuclear and missile threat from the Democratic People' s Republic of Korea as well as the expanding cooperation on other important global challenges, the spokesperson added.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye had previously planned to visit the United States this week for a meeting with President Barack Obama, but had to reschedule the visit due to the MERS outbreak. Endite