By Kyu-seok Shim
SEOUL, May 13 (Reuters) - South Korea is reviewing a phased contribution to efforts to ensure safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back said on Wednesday, signaling support steps short of military participation.
Ahn told a press conference with South Korean reporters in Washington that he had conveyed Seoul’s position at a meeting with U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Monday.
"We said at about this level that, fundamentally, we will participate
as a responsible member of the international community and that we will review ways to contribute in a phased manner," Ahn said in comments confirmed by Seoul's ministry.
Ahn said possible forms of phased support could include expressions of political support, personnel dispatches, information-sharing and the provision of military assets, while stressing that no detailed discussions had taken place on expanding South Korean troop involvement.
“There was no deep discussion on something like specifically expanding our military’s participation,” he said, adding that any decisions would need to follow domestic legal procedures.
Wi Sung-lac, South Korea’s presidential national security adviser, said at a roundtable with reporters on Wednesday that Seoul is reviewing whether to join the U.S.-led Maritime Freedom Construct to help safeguard the Strait of Hormuz.
ATTACK ON SOUTH KOREAN SHIP
The meeting between South Korean and U.S. defense chiefs came a day after Seoul denounced an attack on a South Korean-flagged vessel near the Strait of Hormuz last week.
South Korea's presidential office strongly condemned the incident, but said it was still investigating responsibility for the attack.
Ahn said he discussed the attack on the cargo ship with U.S. officials, adding that Seoul would decide on any response only after the probe was complete.
At the meeting on Monday, Hegseth said Washington expected allies to "stand shoulder-to-shoulder" amid rising global threats, citing U.S. President Donald Trump's authorization of what he called Operation Epic Fury as evidence of the administration’s resolve.
He praised Seoul's plans to increase defense spending and assume greater responsibility for the security of the Korean Peninsula, calling it an example of alliance burden-sharing.
Ahn told reporters Hegseth expressed understanding over South Korea’s position on a conditions-based transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) from the United States, and the goal of completing the transition at an early date.
Washington had a "slightly different view" on the OPCON transfer process, Ahn said, adding that Seoul would continue efforts to persuade the United States.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung's administration has signaled it aims to finalise the process during his term, which runs through to 2030, once the country meets a set of military capability conditions agreed with Washington.
Ahn also said that the two sides exchanged views on other alliance issues including plans to build nuclear-powered submarines.
He said there had been no discussion during the talks about a reduction in U.S. forces stationed in South Korea or about the strategic flexibility of U.S. troops stationed in the country.
(Reporting by Kyu-seok Shim in Seoul; Editing by Nia Williams, Matthew Lewis and Ed Davies)
