An American soldier who was recently assigned to the US Forces Korea from Japan tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the military said Friday, bringing the total number of infections among its population to 27.

He arrived at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, some 70 kilometers south of Seoul, on Wednesday on a US government-arranged charter flight and was under mandatory quarantine at Camp Humphreys while awaiting the results of his COVID-19 test.

He is the third active-duty USFK service member who has been confirmed to have contracted the virus so far, according to the US military.

All USFK-affiliated individuals arriving here from overseas are placed in isolation for 14 days and must be tested for the virus upon entering quarantine.

"USFK ... continues to maintain a robust combined defense posture to protect the Republic of Korea against any threat or adversary while maintaining prudent preventive measures to protect the force," according to its release.(Yonhap)