South Korea stresses no ‘final decision yet’ on Hormuz deployment

South Korea on Wednesday said it had not made a final decision on a possible military deployment to the Strait of Hormuz amid renewed hostilities between the US and Iran.

"The government has not yet finalized its policy and is cautiously assessing it," said Seong Ghi-hong, senior presidential secretary for public relations and communication, according to Seoul-based Yonhap News.

The clarification came amid claims that the US had asked Seoul to deploy troops by November and after South Korea sent a Defense Ministry team to the United Arab Emirates to “assess the situation.”

“While the government’s final policy has yet to be decided, working-level discussions have leaked, leading to media reports that have gone too far,” Seong said in a YouTube interview.

Earlier, an unnamed presidential official said South Korea remained in consultations with a range of countries over its "practical contributions" in the nearly closed Strait.

"Korea remains in consultations with a range of countries -- namely, the United States -- for its practical contributions in the Strait of Hormuz," local English newspaper Korea JoongAng Daily reported, citing a presidential office official.

“Korea’s position is to have a role in international efforts to keep the Strait of Hormuz open to navigation,” the official said. “We are in talks with France, Britain and the United States,” the official said.

Signaling that Seoul won't be rushed into deploying troops to the strait, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung told his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron during a two-hour meeting in Paris Tuesday that any decision in this regard rests on South Korea's "national interests and public consensus" rather than outside pressure.

“Recognizing the importance of stability in the strait, we will determine how to contribute based on our national interests and public consensus,” Lee added.

The discussion focused on South Korea’s potential contributions to international efforts to ensure security and freedom of navigation.

It, however, did not presuppose a military contribution or troop deployment in the strait amid continued US pressure.

“It would be premature to characterize today’s discussion as being about deploying troops,” the presidential office official further said.

“We have not narrowed down what form our contribution could take. That means we are not yet debating combat versus noncombat options. The discussion did not move the review forward.”