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S. Korea Weighs Hormuz Role as US-Iran Tensions Mount
(MENAFN) South Korea is weighing phased contributions to a US-led mission to restore safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back announced Wednesday, a South Korean news agency reported.
Speaking to reporters, Ahn confirmed Seoul had communicated to Washington that South Korea would "participate as a responsible member of the international community," signaling openness to stepped contributions toward securing the strategically vital waterway.
The minister outlined a spectrum of potential measures under consideration — ranging from issuing formal declarations of support and deploying personnel, to intelligence sharing and the provision of military assets. He stressed, however, that direct combat involvement had not been substantively deliberated.
Ahn also disclosed that his discussions with US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth extended to broader alliance matters, encompassing the long-pending transfer of wartime operational control and Seoul's ambitions to field nuclear-powered submarines.
Both sides committed to initiating working-level consultations on Hormuz maritime security "at the earliest date," even as tensions tied to the US-Iran confrontation continue to shadow the region.
The Strait of Hormuz — through which roughly 20% of the world's daily oil supply flows — has been severely disrupted since the outbreak of the Iran war in late February, delivering a sharp blow to crude exports from major Gulf producers and driving up oil prices, shipping costs, and insurance premiums across global markets, with Asia bearing a disproportionate impact.
The current crisis traces back to the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran that commenced on February 28th, which triggered retaliatory strikes by Tehran against Israel and US Gulf allies, accompanied by the closure of the strait. A two-week ceasefire brokered by Pakistan took hold on April 8th, though subsequent negotiations in Islamabad collapsed without yielding a durable settlement.
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