Photo : YONHAP News
Anchor: Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back says he’s told his U.S. counterpart that Seoul will review the possibility of making phased contributions to Washington’s initiative to restore safe passage in the Strait of Hormuz. Speaking to reporters at the South Korean embassy in Washington on Wednesday, Ahn said that’s the position he communicated to U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth during their meeting the previous day.
Eileen Cahill has more.
Report: Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back says he conveyed Seoul’s willingness to consider ways to ensure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz when he met with his U.S. counterpart.
Ahn sat down with South Korean reporters in Washington on Tuesday, having met with U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth the previous day.
Ahn said he told Hegseth that South Korea would participate in the initiative as a responsible member of the international community.
The minister suggested joining the efforts in phases, possibly starting with a public statement endorsing the initiative and continuing with other actions such as dispatching personnel, sharing intelligence or providing military assets.
The South Korean and U.S. defense chiefs held talks at the Pentagon on Monday in the wake of an attack on a South Korean cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz, which Tehran has effectively closed.
The U.S. has since urged South Korea to take part in the U.S.-led efforts to ensure freedom of navigation in the critical shipping lane.
Ahn also said the talks covered the planned transfer of wartime operational control of the allied forces on the Korean Peninsula and that Seoul and Washington will continue to discuss the timing of the transition.
The Lee Jae Myung administration is determined to complete the handover by 2028, but recently U.S. Forces Korea Commander Gen. Xavier Brunson suggested the first quarter of 2029 as a more realistic target.
Eileen Cahill, KBS World Radio News.