SEOUL, September 08 (AJP) - The government does not accept the assessment that its own handling of an attack on a South Korean cargo ship in May left an opening for Iran's warning to Seoul this week, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday.
That warning came on Sept. 7. Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei posted a statement written in Korean on his X account, telling South Korea that any country stationing forces or joining operations in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz would be treated as directly backing an act of aggression and would face serious consequences. The post carried an image with a single line in Korean, "dangerous choices carry a price."
Baqaei opened by noting that ties between Iran and South Korea run back more than 64 years and have rested on mutual respect.
South Korea has consulted every country involved since the crisis began, on passage through the strait and on stabilizing the situation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said. It has also continued to discuss what it called practical and military contributions toward that goal.
That wording carries weight. MOFA's standing position is that the government is in close consultation with the international community on ways to restore free navigation in the strait and support peace and stability in the Middle East, and that no specific contribution has been decided. The Ministry of National Defense said on Sept. 4 that reports of a decision to deploy were not accurate and that nothing had been settled. MOFA held that same line Tuesday while calling the contributions under discussion military ones.
What is under review has been reported in detail. South Korean outlets including Herald Business reported in early September, citing government and military sources, that the government was weighing the P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, a navy logistics support ship and an explosive ordnance disposal team. The 11,000-ton Soyang has been named in that reporting as the ship under consideration.
A senior Cheong Wa Dae official told reporters on Sept. 4 that combat and non-combat options were being examined together, and that nothing was fixed.
A deployment would be South Korea's first at U.S. request since the Zaytun division went to Iraq in 2004. It would need a decision by the National Security Council, a cabinet vote and the consent of the National Assembly.
At the center of the criticism is the Namu, a multipurpose carrier operated by HMM. The ship was struck on May 4 while at anchor off Umm Al Quwain in the United Arab Emirates, with six South Korean and 18 foreign crew aboard. None were hurt.
Officials first discussed the blast as a possible fire. On May 10, the government announced that a joint investigation had found the vessel was hit from outside by unidentified flying objects.
Cheong Wa Dae condemned the strike the next day and said an attack on a civilian ship could never be accepted. It has never named who carried it out. That gap, between the early account and the later finding, is what critics point to.
President Donald Trump pressed Seoul directly in the days after the strike. He wrote on Truth Social that Iran had attacked ships belonging to countries with no direct stake in the shipping operation, among them a South Korean cargo ship, and said it was time for South Korea to join. He has said in public remarks since then that Seoul turned down his requests for help on Iran. Countries importing large volumes of Middle Eastern crude, he has argued, should take on the work of keeping the strait open themselves.
Japan and other governments carry comparable exposure in the strait. On why the pressure from Washington has fallen most visibly on Seoul, MOFA declined to read American motives, saying a comment on them would not be appropriate. Free passage for all vessels and stability across the region are goals the international community shares, the ministry said, and South Korea is in close contact with other governments to reach them.
MOFA took the same position on the argument that friction over investment commitments and commercial disputes with the United States is now returning as a security bill. The two governments consult at every level, it said, and work through each issue as it arises.
Tuesday's briefing followed an earlier warning from Tehran. On Sept. 4, a senior Iranian official handling security and political affairs told Iran's Fars news agency and the Lebanese outlet Al Mayadeen that South Korea should not yield to American pressure to cooperate with what he called an illegal military operation. If South Korea acts against Iran in the Strait of Hormuz, he said, Tehran will regard it as direct military participation in a war of aggression against the country.
AJP Takeaways
- Esmaeil Baqaei, Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson, posted a Korean-language warning on X on Sept. 7 that stationing forces or joining operations in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz would be treated as backing an act of aggression.
- South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday it disagrees with the assessment that its handling of the May attack on the HMM Namu left an opening for that pressure.
- The Ministry of National Defense said on Sept. 4 that reports of a decision to deploy were not accurate and that nothing had been settled.
- Cheong Wa Dae condemned the May 4 strike on the Namu and has never named who carried it out.
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