President Park Geun-hye has decided to delay her trip to the United States scheduled later this week as part of efforts to assuage the public’s deepening fears over the Middle East respiratory syndrome, Cheong Wa Dae said Wednesday.

”To assure the public from growing MERS fears, the president has decided to postpone her trip to the U.S., to look after the people and bring an end to the MERS outbreak,” said senior press secretary Kim Sung-woo.

“Because the people’s safety is her top priority, she will delay the trip to the U.S. and will stay to dispel the public fear,“ Kim added

The decision came after a phone call between Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry earlier in the morning, according to Cheong Wa Dae officials.

The South Korean foreign minister has sought the understanding of his U.S. counterpart and agreed to reschedule the trip at the earliest and most convenient time in the future for both.

By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldcorp.com)