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

The United States canceled a joint amphibious landing drill, Ssangyong, with South Korea, scheduled for next month, due to constraints on US forces availability stemming from the war in Iran. The US Marine Corps formally notified its South Korean counterpart in June. The allies are in close consultations regarding the resumption of these drills. This cancellation follows a previous scaling back of another annual joint military exercise by US President Donald Trump, who cited the cost and Seoul's refusal to participate in the Iran war. Trump stated on Truth Social that the Ulchi Freedom Shield drills 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 reduced exercises, North Korea fired 10 short-range ballistic missiles last week, denouncing the drills as rehearsals for invasion.