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Korean Marine Corps denies reports on plan to hold joint drill with Japanese army in June

Published: 14 May. 2025, 09:13

Korean soldiers participate in an annual multilateral exercise in the Philippines in 2024. [MARINE CORPS]

The Korean Marine Corps on Tuesday denied Japanese media reports that claimed the two countries will hold a joint military drill in the Philippines next month.

Earlier in the day, Kyodo News Agency and NHK reported the Korean Marine Corps will hold its first-ever joint exercise with the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (Jgsdf) during Kamandag, an annual international military exercise in the Philippines, slated for next month.

The Marine Corps, however, rejected the reports, saying it has no such plan.

"We will conduct combined drills with the United States and the Philippines, but have no plan to do so with the Jgsdf," an official from the Marine Corps told Yonhap News Agency over the phone.

"Just like last year, the Korean Marine Corps and Jgsdf will hold separate exercises."

Tuesday's reports said the two sides will hold a combined drill simulating a scenario where they board boats operated by the Filipino military for search and rescue operation in case of tsunamis.

The Japanese self-defense forces said the upcoming drill comes as a follow-up measure to a trilateral agreement between Seoul, Tokyo and Washington on security cooperation signed last year, according to the reports.

In July, the defense chiefs of the three countries signed a document on the Trilateral Security Cooperation Framework, institutionalizing joint efforts for security cooperation, including policy principles for the areas of high-level policy consultations, information sharing and trilateral drills.

Yonhap