US cancels joint marine drills with S.Korea over Iran war-related force constraints

The United States has cancelled a joint amphibious landing drill with South Korea, citing constraints on US forces due to the war in Iran, Seoul's Marine Corps announced on Monday. The US Marine Corps had previously informed its South Korean counterpart in June that force availability would be limited for the division-level exercise, called Ssangyong.

The allies are still in close talks about resuming the drills, but the spokesperson did not mention any specific measures to avoid similar cancellations or compensate for lost training opportunities. US Forces Korea declined to comment on the matter. This cancellation comes after US President Donald Trump's sudden decision to scale back a separate annual joint military exercise, Ulchi Freedom Shield, last Friday, citing the cost and Seoul's refusal to participate in the Iran war.

Trump also criticized the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises as sending an inappropriate and hostile signal to North Korea, which has consistently denounced such joint activities as invasion rehearsals. Despite the reduced exercises, North Korea recently launched 10 short-range ballistic missiles and expressed its disapproval of the cancelled drills, emphasizing its historical stance against joint military activities.