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The US has canceled a major joint amphibious landing exercise with South Korea scheduled for next month over a shortage of available forces, which it blamed on the war in Iran.

Getting into it: First reported by Reuters, the cancellation was confirmed Monday at a press briefing by Han Seung-jeon, a spokesman for the South Korean Marine Corps, who said the notification came months ago. “The U.S. Marine Corps formally notified our forces in June that its ability to deploy forces during this year’s Ssangyong exercise would be constrained due to the situation in the Middle East,” Han said, adding that both militaries are still talking about putting the drill back on the calendar at some point. He would not say how the lost training would be made up.

Ssangyong, or “Twin Dragons,” is an exercise that puts more than 10,000 marines from both countries on a South Korean beach alongside warships, aircraft, amphibious vehicles, and sometimes units from other allied militaries, including Britain’s Royal Marines. It ran for decades until Trump pulled the plug on it in his first term, when he called the big drills hostile and a waste of money while he was dealing with Kim Jong Un directly. That makes this the second exercise with Seoul to get axed or trimmed since Trump took office again. Ulchi Freedom Shield, which ran Aug. 17 through Friday, got cut from 11 days to five on Trump’s orders hours before it started.

The Pentagon referred questions to the Marine Corps, which did not immediately respond, and US Forces Korea had no comment. On Ulchi Freedom Shield, Trump was more direct about his reasoning, writing on Truth Social that the 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.” He also cited the cost and South Korea’s refusal to join the Iran war, and said it was important to get along with Kim.

Despite the concessions, North Korea has not reciprocated. Pyongyang put 10 short-range ballistic missiles in the air last week and followed that with a statement ripping the drills anyway, calling the Ulchi Freedom Shield reduction “unworthy of comment,” and it has ruled out talks with Washington for now.