US cancels joint marine drills with South Korea over Iran war-related force constraints
The United States cancelled a joint amphibious landing drill scheduled for next month with South Korea, Seoul's Marine Corps said on Monday, after Washington cited constraints on the availability of U.S. forces due to the war in Iran. The U.S. Marine Corps formally notified its South Korean counterpart in June that force availability would be constrained for the division-level exercise, known as…
The United States has canceled a joint amphibious landing drill with South Korea, citing constraints on U.S. forces due to the ongoing war in Iran, according to the South Korean Marine Corps. The U.S. Marine Corps formally informed its South Korean counterpart in June that the force availability would be limited for the division-level exercise, called Ssangyong.
A spokesperson for the South Korean Marine Corps confirmed this in a press briefing, stating that the allies are still in close consultations to resume the drills. However, no specific measures were mentioned to avoid future cancellations or compensate for lost training opportunities. The U.S. Forces Korea has not yet responded to a request for comment.
This move comes after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a reduction in a separate annual joint military exercise last week, citing the cost and Seoul's refusal to participate in the Iran war. Trump also expressed his disapproval of the Ulchi Freedom Shield drills, stating they sent a "totally inappropriate" signal.
Written by urgent.news from The Korea Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
Also reported by 8 other outlets
- South Korea says US cancels joint marine drill over Iran war freemalaysiatoday.com
- South African rand holds near multi-month high as Iran sanctions loom brecorder.com
- US cancels joint marine drills with S.Korea over Iran war-related force constraints nst.com.my
- US cancels joint marine drills with South Korea over Iran war-related force constraints koreatimes.co.kr
- Iraq calls for joint security council between Saudi Arabia and Iran middleeasteye.net
- US cancels joint marine drills with South Korea over Iran war-related force constraints al-monitor.com
- South Korea says US cancelled joint marine drills over force constraints from Iran war euronews.com
- South Korea says US cancels joint marine drill over Iran war channelnewsasia.com
