U.S. Marine Corps officials formally notified South Korea in June that its ability to deploy forces during this year’s “Ssangyong” exercise would be limited due to the situation in the Middle East, South Korean Marine Corps spokesman Han Seung-chan said at a press briefing on Monday. The biennial “Ssangyong” exercise involves South Korean and U.S. Marine Corps forces and is designed to strengthen combined operational capabilities. This comes after U.S. President Donald Trump last week unexpectedly ordered the scaling back of another annual combined military exercise, which ended last Friday, citing high costs and South Korea’s refusal to participate in a war against Iran.