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, Yonhap News Agency reported.
Ahn told a press conference with South Korean media correspondents 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, according to Yonhap.
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.
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.
At the meeting, 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.
Separately, 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.
According to Yonhap, 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 and Matthew Lewis)
