Hormuz mission tests Korea-US alliance

Progressive activists stage a rally in Seoul, Thursday, against latest U.S. attack on Iran and Korea's possible joining of a U.S.-led naval mission in the Strait of Hormuz near Iran. Yonhap

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By Yi Whan-woo

The U.S. request for Korea to join a naval security mission in the Strait of Hormuz has emerged as a new test of the two countries' alliance on top of other issues, such as negotiations over the Special Measures Agreement (SMA) that covers defense cost-sharing for U.S, troops stationed here.

In a rare move, the White House disclosed Thursday that U.S. President Donald Trump had met with Chung Eui-yong, chief of the presidential National Security Office (NSO). The spontaneous meeting between Trump and Chung, which took place while the latter was in Washington for a trilateral security meeting, seems to show the U.S. leader's keen interest in bilateral issues.

Given the urgency of the situation in the Middle East, the two may have discussed Korea's participation in the budding naval mission, although Cheong Wa Dae said that nothing has been decided on the issue. U.S. National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien said that he discussed "Iran, DPRK-related developments and trilateral cooperation" with Chung and his Japanese counterpart Shigeru Kitamura.

U.S. Ambassador to Korea Harry Harris expressed hope this week that Seoul would send naval assets to the region to help safeguard the strait, as Iran seized a foreign oil tanker and allegedly mined two others in the summer of 2018.

His request, however, appeared to be problematic for the government, as it comes after a controversy over Seoul pulling out from a Korea-Japan military intelligence pact. The U.S. called this "disappointing," prompting speculation here that Washington favored Tokyo over Seoul.

"The Hormuz mission is totally irrelevant when it comes to comparing the U.S.-Korea alliance with the U.S.-Japan alliance but it does not seem to be the case here," said Kim Dong-yeop, a research professor at the Kyungnam University Institute for Far Eastern Studies.

The two East Asian countries are among other U.S. allies that have been asked to join the U.S.-led maritime coalition.

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How Korea should respond was produced much speculation after Japan's decision to send a naval force independent of the coalition.

The diplomatic risk in joining the patrol mission in the Strait of Hormuz has become greater, following the U.S. assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani and Iran's retaliatory missile attack on two joint American military bases in Iraq.

In several interviews with local media, Iranian Ambassador to Korea Saeed Badamchi-Shabestari warned that Tehran could sever ties with Seoul if the government agrees to the U.S. request.

Against this backdrop, an analyst said the administration should take step-by-step measures with regard to the U.S.-Iran conflict.

"The first possible measure to be taken will be sending a liaison officer, but only if the U.S. requests it to do so," Shin Beom-chul, a senior fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, said. "It is important to send a political message that South Korea stands with the U.S. as an ally but how to materialize such a message should be done by analyzing the circumstances very closely."

Shin said Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha was "mistaken" Thursday, when she said that Seoul, in relation to the mission to Hormuz, cannot always be on the same page as Washington.

Cha Du-hyeogn, a visiting fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, suggested sending a naval force of a similar size to the Cheonghae anti-piracy unit operating off the coast of Somalia.

His suggestion was in line with the possible option of expanding the Cheonghae unit's mission parameters to join the U.S.-led coalition for the time being.

Meanwhile, analysts said Korea should side with the U.S. over Iran, despite the decades-long economic partnership with Tehran.

Cha specifically speculated that Iran might not be so quick to cut ties with Korea.

"Many U.S. allies that are asked to send troops to the strait have economic ties with Iran, and severing these for joining the U.S.-led naval mission will only hurt Tehran," he said.

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