Military medics of South Korea's Jaema unit stationed in the southern Iraqi region of Nasiriyah have temporarily suspended their medical operations following the kidnapping of a South Korean man in the Gulf nation.

The Defense Ministry said Monday that it had ordered the tentative suspension of medical operations by Jaema unit troops.

The Jaema unit has been treating around 20,000 patients from April of last year at Talil base, some 20 kilometers west of Nasiriyah.

The government has instructed the 660 troops of the Seohee and Jaema units in Nasiriyah to refrain from making non-essential activities outside of their bases and to strengthen precautionary measures.