ULAN BATOR, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Mongolian Foreign Ministry issued a warning on Friday, asking citizens not to travel to South Korea as the first case of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) was found in South Korea since the outbreak in July 2015.

Mongolian citizens are not recommended to go to South Korea unless absolute necessity, the ministry said.

A 61-year-old South Korean man was diagnosed last Saturday with the viral disease one day after a business trip to Kuwait.

MERS is a respiratory illness caused by a new type of corona-virus and carried by camels. The first case was recorded in Saudi Arabia in 2012. There is no vaccine or treatment for the disease.

South Korea is one of the most popular destinations for Mongolians.

According to data of the National Statistical Office, out of the total 144,500 Mongolian citizens living and working abroad, over 36,000 are in South Korea.