South Korea prepares Hormuz military deployment, media reports say

SEOUL, Sept 4 (Reuters) - ‌South Korea ​is ​preparing to deploy military assets to support freedom of navigation in the ‌Strait of Hormuz and aims to dispatch them ⁠before the end of the year, media reported late ‌on Thursday, citing government ‌and military sources.

The reports in several South Korean media outlets said the government was preparing procedures ​to seek parliamentary approval for the deployment, including submitting a consent motion to parliament ⁠this month after cabinet review.

The government was considering options including sending ​a maritime patrol aircraft, a logistics support vessel or a mine detection and clearance ​unit, and had been ‌discussing the scale and nature of a potential contribution with countries including ⁠the United States, Britain and France, the reports said.

South Korea's presidential Blue House said Seoul had been ⁠discussing practical ways to contribute to freedom of navigation in ​the strait, but reports that the government had settled on a deployment were "different from the facts".

U.S. President Donald ‌Trump said in an August social media post that he had scaled ‌back U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises in ⁠part because South Korea ‌had declined to ​help the U.S. in the war against Iran.

(Reporting by Kyu-seok Shim; Editing by Stephen ‌Coates)

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