Blue House: Reviewing U.S. Hormuz proposal, weighing legal steps and readiness
The government said May 5 it is reviewing President Donald Trump’s call for South Korea to join a military operation following an explosion and fire involving a South Korean vessel in the Strait of Hormuz.
It said it is considering South Korea’s readiness posture for the Korean Peninsula and domestic legal procedures.
The government also stressed it will quickly and accurately determine the cause of the incident and share the findings transparently with the public.
The Blue House said it views the safety of international sea lanes and freedom of navigation as a shared interest of all countries and a principle protected under international law. It added that South Korea is actively participating in international efforts to stabilize, restore and normalize global maritime logistics.
“In this context, we are also paying attention to President Trump’s remarks,” it said.
Trump says tariffs are “not high enough,” signals push for additional duties
President Donald Trump said current tariff levels are not high enough, openly signaling his intent to introduce additional duties.
With large-scale tariff refunds set to begin next week following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling invalidating reciprocal tariffs, the Trump administration is expected to focus on crafting “alternative tariffs” starting with a Section 301 trade-law hearing this week.
According to CBS and other foreign media, Trump made the remarks during a White House Small Business Summit held as part of U.S. Small Business Week on May 4 local time.
“You actually said thank you for the tariffs, but I think those tariffs are actually not high enough,” Trump said. He added that the administration is reviewing alternative tariffs and said, “Refunding tariffs is really terrible.”
Iran foreign minister heads to China amid Hormuz tensions, plans talks with Wang Yi
As the United States and Iran entered a military standoff over the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi traveled to China on May 5 local time.
Yonhap News Agency reported that Iran’s Foreign Ministry said on its Telegram channel that Araghchi would visit Beijing.
The ministry said Araghchi plans to meet China’s foreign minister to discuss ways to develop bilateral relations and to exchange views on rapidly changing regional and international developments.
South Koreans’ virtual-asset holdings halve in a year; stablecoin holdings more than double
South Korean investors’ virtual-asset holdings and trading value fell by more than 60 trillion won over about a year, while stablecoin holdings more than doubled, data showed.
Virtual assets appeared to lose demand as interest spread to a strong stock market, while stablecoins rose amid a preference for dollar-based assets tied to a weak won, the report said.
According to 자료 submitted May 5 by the Bank of Korea to Rep. Cha Gyu-geun of the Rebuilding Korea Party, a member of the National Assembly’s Finance and Economy Planning Committee, domestic virtual-asset holdings totaled 60.6 trillion won as of the end of February.
The figure is the combined end-of-month market value of assets held by investors at South Korea’s five major virtual-asset exchanges: Upbit, Bithumb, Korbit, Coinone and Gopax.
Cease-fire between U.S. and Iran shows strain after a month; Trump urges South Korea to join maritime operation
Signs of strain emerged in a cease-fire that has held for nearly a month as the United States and Iran failed to narrow differences despite behind-the-scenes talks on ending the conflict, the report said.
Amid reports that a South Korean vessel in the Strait of Hormuz was hit in an Iranian attack, Trump publicly urged South Korea to join an operation in the waterway.
According to Britain’s The Guardian and other outlets, Trump said in a May 4 local time interview with Fox News, referring to an operation dubbed “Project Freedom” to help merchant ships escape being trapped in the Strait of Hormuz: “If they try to target American ships, Iran’s military will disappear from the face of the Earth,” he warned.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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