South Korea and the United States are set to hold high-level defense talks this week, with Seoul’s possible role in efforts to secure the Strait of Hormuz expected to be among the key issues under discussion.
The 29th Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue (KIDD) will be held in Busan from Wednesday through Friday, bringing together senior defense and foreign affairs officials from both countries. The talks will also cover the transition of wartime operational control, combined defense posture and shipbuilding cooperation.
The discussions come as Washington continues to seek contributions from allies to maritime security operations around the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for global energy supplies. South Korea has been reviewing possible options, including military measures, but officials have stressed that no final decision has been made on deploying troops or military assets.
Seoul recently sent a joint team of defense and foreign ministry officials to the United Arab Emirates to assess security conditions and the operational environment around the waterway. The team examined local facilities and conditions related to potential port calls, maintenance, logistics and military operations.
South Korean officials have emphasized that the UAE mission was an assessment exercise and did not mean a deployment decision had been taken. Any military deployment would also require approval by South Korea’s National Assembly.
The issue has become politically and diplomatically sensitive. Iran has warned that any South Korean military participation in operations in the Gulf or Strait of Hormuz would be viewed as support for U.S. aggression and could have serious consequences.
The Strait of Hormuz is particularly important to South Korea because of its dependence on the waterway for energy supplies. Reuters reported that South Korea relied on the strait for about 61 percent of its crude oil imports and 54 percent of its naphtha imports last year.
The talks come amid heightened regional tensions and disruptions to shipping through the strait. Reuters reported Monday that commodity vessel traffic remained well below its pre-conflict level, underscoring the wider impact of the security crisis on global energy and maritime trade.
For Seoul, the discussions therefore involve a difficult balance between its alliance with Washington, the security of vital energy routes and the risk of becoming directly involved in the wider U.S.-Iran conflict.
