U.S. Cancels Joint Marine Drills with South Korea Amid Iran War-Related Force Constraints

CBS News

U.S. and South Korean forces during a previous drill.

The United States has cancelled a joint amphibious landing exercise with South Korea that was scheduled for next month, South Korea’s Marine Corps said on Monday.

Washington cited constraints on the availability of US forces due to the ongoing war in Iran as the reason for cancelling the exercise.

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 Ssangyong, a South Korean Marine Corps spokesperson told a press briefing.

The allies remain in close ⁠consultations on resuming the drills, the spokesperson said. He did not specify what measures might be taken to prevent future cancellations or to make up for lost training opportunities.

Later on Monday, the U.S. State Department said that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had spoken with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun about a "range of issues" in their alliance.

Rubio told his South Korean counterpart that Washington and Seoul ‌need ⁠to remain in close coordination on matters integral to their alliance, according to a State Department statement.

The cancellation follows U.S. President Donald Trump's surprise order to scale back a separate annual joint military exercise that ended last Friday, citing ⁠the cost and Seoul's refusal to take part in the Iran war.




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