Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back stated on Tuesday that the U.S. has not yet officially sent any letters regarding military support, including the potential deployment of warships to the Strait of Hormuz.
Minister Ahn made this statement during an afternoon session of the National Assembly’s Defense Committee in Yeouido. He was responding to Democratic Party Rep. Kim Byeong-joo’s inquiry about potential changes in the government’s stance on involving South Korean forces in the Middle East situation.
Addressing concerns about possible discrepancies between the Foreign Ministry and Defense Ministry’s positions on the U.S. troop deployment request, Ahn clarified that the stances aren’t fundamentally different; it’s more a matter of how they’re phrasing things.
On March 17, Minister Ahn had previously told the National Assembly that no official requests had been received for sending ships to the Strait of Hormuz. However, on the same day, Foreign Minister Park Jin described it as a situation that could be interpreted as a request or not, leading to speculation about differing interpretations between the ministries.
Ahn further noted that it is in close consultation with the U.S. about various situations, including the Middle East conflict, explaining that this ongoing communication was why he had provided detailed briefings to the National Assembly on matters such as U.S. asset deployments.