Seoul, 04 September (H.S.): South Korea is considering deploying military personnel to the Strait of Hormuz to assist the United States in ensuring safe passage through the strategic waterway.

The Korea Herald reported on Friday, citing a senior official at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae. The official was not identified. According to the official, any decision would be based on South Korea’s defence readiness on the Korean Peninsula and domestic legal requirements. However, no decision has been taken so far.

The statement came after a report by local broadcaster JTBC on Thursday, which said the government was considering sending troops to the Strait of Hormuz and that it would not take much time to submit a proposal to the National Assembly seeking approval for the deployment.

Responding to the report, the presidential office official said the government had not yet decided on any specific course of action. The official reiterated Seoul’s position that it would make a concrete and military contribution to ensuring safe maritime passage through the Strait of Hormuz. “Nothing has been decided yet, but we are considering all options,” the official said.

The official said, “The South Korean military could also support the United States in combat.” The official added that any “concrete contribution” by South Korea in the Strait of Hormuz would first have to be assessed in light of the country’s military readiness on the Korean Peninsula.

“We are reviewing various possibilities with regard to our readiness posture on the Korean Peninsula. We believe there could be some room for this as long as it does not have a significant impact on our readiness posture on the Korean Peninsula,” the official said.

The official also said domestic law would have to be taken into consideration. Under Article 60, Paragraph 2 of the Constitution, the National Assembly has the authority to consent to the overseas deployment of South Korean armed forces. “Domestic legal procedures ultimately mean consulting with and obtaining consent from the National Assembly. We have not reached that stage yet,” the official said.

Do Jin-ho, a visiting research fellow at Kyungnam University’s Institute for Far Eastern Studies, suggested that Seoul could view a potential deployment to the Strait of Hormuz as a way to gain leverage on several other trade- and alliance-related issues with Washington. “Why is the deployment of troops being considered at this time? It appears that the government believes some kind of extraordinary measure is necessary,” Do said.

“There are currently many issues of disagreement between South Korea and the United States. Ultimately, I think the government may be seeking to overcome the current difficulties between South Korea and the United States by demonstrating greater contributions to the alliance,” Do said.

The senior presidential office official also acknowledged on Friday that security talks had become difficult again after making some progress earlier in the year. “Around May, the talks got back on track and some progress was made, but things have become difficult again. This situation is connected to many other issues,” the official said.

Cheong Wa Dae had previously acknowledged that security talks were effectively stalled from January to May, partly due to tensions arising from South Korea’s investigation into a major data breach involving US-listed e-commerce giant Coupang. Talks resumed around May, and the two sides began inter-agency consultations on provisions concerning nuclear cooperation in early June.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar