정부, 내년 2월 호르무즈 해협에 청해부대 파병할 듯 The U.S. has been trying to get South Korea to send forces to support a mission in the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's main shipping routes for oil, which Iran has been threatening to close.
Seoul has decided to join in the efforts. .
Our defense ministry correspondent Kim Ji-yeon has the updates.
A South Korean military source has confirmed local media reports that the country has decided to participate in a mission to ensure the freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz... upon requests from the U.S. and as a way to support its alliance with Washington.
The source said the decision was made last Thursday by members of the National Security Council's standing committee.
Seoul has told Washington its plans to send a liaison officer next month... and then a destroyer by February.
It said the South Korean officer will work at the Bahrain-based International Maritime Security Concept... to make preparations for the destroyer's arrival.
The most likely option is for South Korea's Cheonghae Unit... currently deployed to the Gulf of Aden on an anti-piracy mission off the coast of Somalia... close to the Strait... to participate in the mission.
The 31st batch of the Cheonghae Unit is scheduled to depart from Busan later this month for a six-month mission which starts in February.
Whether the unit will be operating under the IMSC or on its own is yet to be decided.
Seoul's defense ministry reiterated Wednesday it's considering many options on how to contribute to the international community's efforts to protect South Korean nationals and ships in the vicinity of the Strait.
It's expected the government is to strategically continue its ambiguity on the issue... to gain an upper hand in defense cost-sharing talks with Washington.
"There's also the issue of trying to avoid creating friction with Iran... which had threatened to close the Strait if its adversaries such as the U.S. commit 'hostile acts.'"
Apart from diplomatic reasons though, the government is known to have mulled over the military's role in the Strait of Hormuz due to the region's significance in the country's crude oil procurement.
South Korea's oil tankers ship 70-percent of the country's imported crude through the Strait from oil-producing countries such as Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
Kim Ji-yeon, Arirang News.
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