Defense chief says no official request yet from Washington for troop dispatch to Middle East

SEOUL, March 24 (Yonhap) — Seoul has but to obtain a proper request from Washington concerning troop deployment to the Center East, although the 2 nations’ army authorities stay in shut session, the protection minister mentioned Tuesday.

“We have not acquired any letter in an official capability from the U.S. facet but, however we’re intently coordinating and consulting underneath the desk on numerous situations,” Ahn mentioned throughout a parliamentary session, when requested if there have been any adjustments to the federal government’s place on the dispatching of troops to the Center East.

U.S. President Donald Trump had referred to as on U.S. allies, together with South Korea, and different nations affected by Iran’s try to shut the Strait of Hormuz, to “hopefully” ship ships to maintain the strait “open and protected,” in a posting on his Reality Social account on March 14.

South Korea presently operates the Cheonghae naval unit within the Gulf of Aden for anti-piracy operations, with the 4,400-ton class ROKS Dae Jo Yeong destroyer and a few 260 personnel deployed.

The protection ministry has claimed that the unit was unprepared for conducting missions within the Strait of Hormuz, and the deployment of troops to the slender waterway would require parliamentary approval.

A number of U.S. allies, together with Germany, Spain and Italy, in addition to the North Atlantic Treaty Group alliance, have rejected Trump’s calls to ship warships to the strait, the place Iran is believed to have laid mines to stop ships from passing.

sookim@yna.co.kr
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