South Korea said the United States has canceled a major joint amphibious exercise scheduled for next month due to force deployment constraints stemming from the US-Israeli war with Iran.
South Korean Marine Corps spokesperson Han Seung-jeon said at a press briefing on Monday: “The US Marine Corps formally notified our forces in June that its ability to deploy forces for this year’s Ssangyong exercise would be constrained due to the situation in the Middle East.”
The Ssangyong exercise, held every two years with South Korean and US Marine Corps participation, aims to enhance combined operations and typically involves warships, aircraft, and ground forces practicing amphibious landings.
The spokesperson said Seoul and Washington continue to consult on resuming the amphibious drill but provided no details. The Pentagon had no immediate comment.
The announcement comes after President Donald Trump last week unexpectedly ordered the reduction of another annual joint military exercise that ended last Friday, citing costs and Seoul's refusal to join the war with Iran. The annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise was shortened from 11 days to five.
Trump has also sought to revive the relationship he built with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during his first term. On Truth Social last week, he wrote that the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises sent “a completely inappropriate and hostile signal” to a country that, “as long as Donald J. Trump is President, has not threatened and has been respectful.”
Despite the scaled-back drills, North Korea fired 10 short-range ballistic missiles last week and issued statements condemning the exercises. North Korea has long denounced such joint drills as rehearsals for invasion.
The US president also said last week that it was important to “get along” with Kim, while noting that Pyongyang now has 57 “very powerful” nuclear weapons. Seoul estimates the North has between 80 and 120 such weapons. Trump met Kim three times during his first term, but Pyongyang accelerated its nuclear programs after the second summit in Hanoi in 2019 collapsed without a deal on denuclearization.
