South Korea has dispatched an investigation team to assess the security situation in the Strait of Hormuz, the defence ministry said Tuesday. The team departed for the United Arab Emirates over the weekend and is expected to return as early as this week.
A defence ministry official explained that the dispatch "is aimed at assessing the state of affairs and the security situation in the strait," stressing that the move "was not decided on the premise of military deployment." The examination results will be reported to the National Security Council.
The announcement comes amid repeated calls from Washington for Seoul to assist U.S. war efforts against Iran. The move follows a decision by U.S. President Donald Trump in August to scale back U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises, in part because South Korea had declined to help Washington in the U.S.-Iran conflict.
The latest development occurs approximately six months after Trump urged five nations, including South Korea, to send warships to the strait to help secure the key shipping route in the Middle East. Trump has recently increased pressure on Seoul to make a military commitment to the region.
The presidential office said Friday that Seoul was reviewing its options, including military measures, to support freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit route for global oil supplies. The office denied media reports that the government had already decided on a deployment.
The defence ministry also rejected a news report claiming Washington has requested Seoul to decide by November whether it will send troops to the region.
Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson commented on the matter this week, though details of the response were not fully captured in available reports.