South Korea is not willing to deploy any kind of military forces in the Strait of Hormuz amid the US-Iran conflict. President Lee Jae-myung made this clear on Friday. To be clear, he is not willing to take any action in the Middle East that could involve South Korea in a conflict. It should be noted that US President Donald Trump is constantly pushing for military assistance in the Iran war. However, Myung made it clear that he would stand by his decision.
But at the same time, he said, even if the army is not sent, Seoul will take the minimum and necessary steps to keep commercial ships and oil transportation routes safe. In fact, South Korea gets 63 percent of its imported oil through the Strait of Hormuz. As a result, the current situation has created a major economic and security concern for them. In this situation, Seoul wants to stand firm in its position by ignoring Trump's 'bloody eyes'.
South Korea and America have a long history of good relations. The relationship between the two countries has a strong foundation of military and strategic partnership spanning more than seven decades. But more recently, geopolitical tensions between the two countries have grown over the Iran conflict and defense policy following Donald Trump's return to the bill.
The complexity of military alliances and joint exercises is also a factor. Last August, Trump abruptly ordered the Pentagon to significantly scale back the two countries' annual joint military exercise, the Ulchi Freedom Shield. He informed that it is 'too expensive'. Informed circles are calling his directive as a 'provocative' signal to North Korea. In addition, Trump has already attacked Seoul for not getting enough help in the Iran war. Let's see what America comments after today's announcement.