South Korea dispatches team to assess Strait of Hormuz conditions

SEOUL: South Korea said Tuesday (Sep 8) it had sent a fact-finding team to assess the situation in the Strait of Hormuz, stressing no decision had been made about potential troop deployment to the strategic waterway.

Traffic through the vital shipping route has been virtually paralysed since the US-Iran war began on Feb 28, disrupting global energy markets.

The South Korean defence ministry said it had "dispatched a fact-finding team to assess conditions on the ground in the Strait of Hormuz".

"The team was sent to examine the regional situation and security conditions, and its mission does not presuppose an actual deployment," it said.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly pressured ally South Korea to provide help for the war in the Middle East, but Seoul denied that ally Washington had asked it to deploy troops by a specified deadline.

"No decision has been made regarding the deployment of troops," the South Korean defence ministry said.

The fact-finding team left for the United Arab Emirates over the weekend and was assessing operational conditions for a potential deployment, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing officials.

The team is expected to return to South Korea as early as this week, the report said.

Contacted by AFP, the defence ministry declined to comment on the report.

Iran and the United States have been at war since Feb 28, with Tehran largely controlling the Strait of Hormuz - a vital shipping route linking the Gulf to international waters.

South Korea said Friday it was considering "contributions" to US security efforts along the strait, while stressing that no decision had been made.

Tuesday's announcement followed a warning from Tehran a day earlier that any South Korean military contribution to the conflict would have "serious consequences".

"Any military deployment or participation in operations by other countries in the Persian Gulf or the Strait of Hormuz can only be regarded as direct support for the party responsible for that aggression and will have serious consequences," Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said in a Korean-language post on X.

He warned Seoul against succumbing to what he called "US pressure and intimidation".

Negotiations between Iran and the United States have stalled as they vied for control over Hormuz, which normally carries around a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas exports.