U.S. Cancels South Korea Marine Drill as Iran War Strains Forces After 10 North Korean Missiles
Updated
Updated · USA TODAY · Aug 24
U.S. Cancels South Korea Marine Drill as Iran War Strains Forces After 10 North Korean Missiles
3 articles · Updated · USA TODAY · Aug 24
Summary
June notice from the U.S. Marine Corps led South Korea to scrap next month’s division-level Ssangyong amphibious landing drill, after Washington said the Iran war was constraining available forces.
Seoul’s Marine Corps said the allies are still consulting on how to resume the exercise, but gave no details on replacement training or steps to avoid another cancellation.
The move follows Donald Trump’s surprise decision to scale back a separate annual joint exercise that ended Friday, citing costs and Seoul’s refusal to join the Iran war.
Last week’s reduced drills still drew a North Korean response: Pyongyang fired 10 short-range ballistic missiles and again denounced the exercises as invasion rehearsals.