Anadolu Staff
22 July 2026•Update: 22 July 2026
South Korea on Wednesday denied receiving any new US request to deploy military assets in the Strait of Hormuz but said it was conducting a “comprehensive review of ways to make practical contributions” to ensuring freedom of navigation.
The denial came after media reports that Washington had asked Seoul “to deploy a warship” to the strategic waterway amid renewed tensions between the US and Iran over Hormuz, Yonhap News reported.
South Korean National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac also denied the reports, saying there "has not been any new request from the US regarding Hormuz, including a request to deploy a warship or take a particular action."
Seoul’s clarification came as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, as well as his counterparts from India, Japan, and Australia, in the Philippine capital Manila, which is hosting meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Asked whether the US had asked South Korea and other Asian allies to contribute naval assets, Rubio said: “We didn't ask them that today.”
“I think it's to their benefit … If you look at the region, they heavily depend on oil and natural gas that comes from this part of the world,” Rubio told reporters in Manila, adding that the US “have had those conversations with them in the past.”
The South Korean presidential office said Seoul was “comprehensively reviewing ways to make practical contributions to (ensuring) freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, taking into account various factors, including the (defense) readiness posture on the Korean Peninsula and domestic legal procedures.”
Rubio, however, said: “It'd be great if they if they join the effort.”
“Some of them may eventually do so. It's in their interest to do so, but we didn't reach any agreement on that today,” he added.
