South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back vists the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., May 11, 2026. (Elizabeth Fraser/U.S. Army)
South Korea’s defense minister said Seoul is considering phased support for U.S.-led efforts to restore safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz following attacks on commercial shipping near the waterway.
Speaking Tuesday at the South Korean Embassy in Washington, D.C., after two days of meetings at the Pentagon, Ahn Gyu-back said the government was reviewing options that could include “declaring of support, dispatching personnel, sharing information and providing military assets,” the Yonhap News Agency reported Wednesday.
A Ministry of National Defense spokesman confirmed the report’s accuracy in a text message to reporters Wednesday in Seoul.
Ahn said South Korea would “participate as a responsible member of the international community” in efforts to secure maritime traffic through the strait but emphasized he did not specifically discuss troop deployments with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Any military involvement would have to comply with South Korean law, Ahn said.
He also said talks did not include discussions about reducing U.S. troop levels in South Korea or changing the role of U.S. Forces Korea.
Ahn was in Washington this week for the Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue. On Monday, he and Hegseth discussed alliance cooperation, defense modernization and Seoul’s plan to assume wartime operational control of allied forces on the Korean Peninsula, according to a joint statement released Tuesday.
The comments came days after South Korea’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that a Panama-flagged cargo ship operated by South Korean company HMM Co. was struck by two airborne objects near the Strait of Hormuz.
The vessel, HMM Namu, caught fire May 4 while anchored off the United Arab Emirates. Authorities are still investigating the attack’s origin.
President Donald Trump wrote on social media the same day that Iran had “taken some shots” at the ship and urged South Korea to support U.S. efforts to reopen the strait.
Iran has denied involvement.
The Iranian Embassy in Seoul said it “firmly rejects and categorically denies any allegations” linking Iranian armed forces to the incident, according to a statement posted May 7 on the embassy’s website.
