Korean Diplomacy Waits on Washington, All the Way to the Hormuz NSC
The Standing Committee of the National Security Council (NSC, the government's top body for discussing security matters) that was set to address the debate over deploying forces to the Strait of Hormuz was postponed on the 17th, and the presidential office reportedly plans to convene the committee only after confirming the U.S. position during the Korea-U.S. foreign ministers' meeting scheduled for the night of the 18th. The government had originally planned to hold the NSC standing committee chaired by National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac to review the deployment issue based on a report from a survey team that had returned from a trip to the Middle East. Instead, any conclusion has been pushed back until after Foreign Minister Cho Hyun's talks with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the night of the 18th.
Asked at the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee whether the meeting would take place, Unification Minister Chung Dong-young replied, "It was not held," and when asked whether there were plans to convene it before the ministers' meeting, he said, "There are none."
Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, who departed for the United States on the morning of the same day, said of the deployment issue, "Nothing has been decided yet, and we are reviewing it while taking various factors into consideration," adding, "Our position is that while we will participate in international cooperation, we will give priority to the safety of our people and freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz." Cho is scheduled to meet with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington late on the night of the 18th, Korean time.
In response, First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo said, "The deployment to the Strait of Hormuz is fundamentally being considered not so much in terms of the Korea-U.S. relationship as in terms of ensuring navigational stability, the security of energy supply lines, and the safety of residents and citizens in the region," adding, "No specific matters regarding the deployment issue have yet been decided."
