An inspection team from the World Health Organization (WHO) arrived in South Korea on Monday to launch a joint inspection with Korean authorities on the spread of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome.

Seoul's Health and Welfare Ministry said on Monday that according to International Health Regulations (IHR), the WHO may conduct an on-site evaluation in cooperation with the relevant country's government on issues requiring international cooperation.

The inspection team, led by Assistant Director-General of the WHO Keiji Fukuda, includes experts on virus, infection prevention and control, as well as public health experts who have experience on dealing with MERS outbreaks in the Middle East.

The WHO inspection team will visit the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Osong, North Chungcheong Province, hospitals where MERS patients were treated and state quarantine facilities until Saturday to collect and analyze related data.