The United States has cancelled a joint amphibious landing exercise with South Korea scheduled for next month, with Washington citing constraints on the availability of its forces amid the war in Iran.
South Korea’s Marine Corps said the US Marine Corps formally notified its South Korean counterpart in June that the availability of American forces would be limited for the division-level exercise, known as Ssangyong.
The exercise was therefore called off, although the two allies remain in close discussions over the possibility of resuming the drills, according to a South Korean Marine Corps spokesperson.
The spokesperson did not provide details on how the allies might prevent similar cancellations in the future or compensate for the lost training opportunity. US Forces Korea also did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Later on Monday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun about a range of issues concerning the two countries’ alliance.
According to the US State Department, Rubio stressed the need for Washington and Seoul to maintain close coordination on matters considered important to their alliance.
The cancellation comes shortly after US President Donald Trump ordered a reduction in another annual joint military exercise between the two countries, which concluded last Friday.
Trump cited the cost of the exercise as well as South Korea’s refusal to participate in the war in Iran. He also criticised the drills as sending an inappropriate and hostile signal.
Despite the scaling back of the exercises, North Korea fired 10 suspected short-range ballistic missiles last week and separately criticised the US-South Korea military drills.
Pyongyang has long condemned joint military exercises between Washington and Seoul, describing them as preparations for a potential invasion.
