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

The United States has cancelled a joint amphibious landing exercise with South Korea scheduled for next month, citing limited US force availability amid the war in Iran, a South Korean Marine Corps spokesperson said at a press briefing.

According to the spokesperson, the US Marine Corps notified its South Korean counterpart in June that its forces would not be sufficiently available for the division-level exercise, known as Ssangyong, Caliber.Az reports, citing Reuters.

The two allies remain in close discussions over the resumption of the drills, the spokesperson added, without specifying what steps could be taken to prevent similar cancellations or compensate for the lost training.

US Forces Korea did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The cancellation comes after US President Donald Trump unexpectedly ordered a reduction in another annual joint military exercise with South Korea, which concluded last Friday. Trump cited the cost of the drills and Seoul's refusal to participate in the Iran war.

Trump also said on his Truth Social platform that the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises sent "a signal that was totally inappropriate and hostile, to a Country that, as long as Donald J. Trump has been President, has been unthreatening and respectful."

Despite the scaled-back exercises, North Korea fired 10 short-range ballistic missiles last week and condemned the drills.

Pyongyang has long denounced joint US-South Korean military exercises as preparations for an invasion.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov