According to Korez, the incident happened outside the barrack buildings in the Italian base where the Slovenian contingent serving in Kosovo is stationed.
A memorial mass was held for the soldier today by a Slovenian military chaplain and a book of condolence opened at the base.
The incident happened as Slovenian soldiers were getting ready for a training exercise as part of which they took their weapons from the arms storage facility.
Korez said that the soldier, whom he described as in her 20s, failed to turn up at the training grounds, which prompted her colleagues to look for her.
One of her colleagues contacted her over the phone at around 1 PM, but during the conversation she shot herself with an automatic rifle, Korez said.
The army hopes that the remains of the soldier will be repatriated as soon as possible. A post-mortem examination has also been ordered.
Korez, who said the deceased would be given a military funeral, told the press that the soldier had undergone psychological preparations prior to departing on her first mission abroad and had not sought assistance in recent months.
According to him, the army does not believe that her decision to end her life was related to her service in Kosovo.
The death is the first of a Slovenian soldier on a mission abroad since Slovenia began taking part in international peacekeeping operations in the late 1990s.
Slovenia has nearly 400 soldiers stationed in Kosovo, its biggest military presence abroad.
The incident has already prompted Slovenia's top officials to express condolences to the family of the soldier.
Defence Minister Ljubica Jelusic said the Slovenian army was in mourning. "I grieve for every young life lost, regardless of the circumstances," commercial station POP TV reported the minister as saying.
