SEOUL - A US soldier attached to an intelligence battalion in Japan has died during training exercises in South Korea, the US military said in a statement on Thursday.

The body of Michael William Corey, a non-commissioned officer from Oro Valley, Arizona, was found on Monday by Korean residents near the outskirts of Camp Jackson, a US Army base north of the South Korean capital, Seoul, the statement said.

Corey "died while conducting land navigation training at Camp Jackson", the United States Forces Korea statement said.

It said the cause of death was unknown and that the incident was under investigation.

There are around 28,500 US troops stationed in South Korea, where the United States has maintained a large military presence since the 1950-53 Korean War.

Corey, an intelligence analyst, was stationed at a US army base in Japan but was undergoing training in South Korea.

Camp Jackson is a training base for US non-commissioned officers, as well as South Korean conscripts with advanced English-language skills who serve within the Korean Augmentation to the United States Army or 'KATUSA'.