The presidential office convened a meeting of the National Security Council(NSC) on Thursday afternoon to review the COVID-19 situation. 

According to the top office, the members of the NSC's standing committee checked the country's response to the recent spike in infections and vowed to take necessary steps to contain the spread.  

The meeting, presided over by Suh Hoon, director of national security at the presidential office, also discussed how to push for President Moon Jae-in's proposal to launch a "Northeast Asia Cooperation Initiative" for infectious disease control and public health.

Moon made the suggestion in September in his address to the United Nations General Assembly.

The envisioned group would include the two Koreas as well as China, Japan and Mongolia. 

The NSC officials also reviewed the military's war remains excavation work inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and decided to continue the project next year.