(2nd LD) Presidential office says no decision reached on troop deployment to Hormuz; review ongoing

(ATTN: UPDATES with more info in last 3 paras)
By Park Boram

SEOUL, Sept. 4 (Yonhap) -- The presidential office said Friday no final decision has been reached on sending military forces to the Strait of Hormuz, saying a review is still under way.

South Korea may be able to make military contributions to global efforts to ensure free navigation through the strait, to the extent that such contributions do not compromise its defense readiness, if it decides to do so, a presidential official said.

The remarks follow media reports that the government is preparing to seek parliamentary approval for a plan to dispatch military forces to the strait, including a combat support ship.

U.S. President Donald Trump has recently ratcheted up apparent pressure on Seoul to make military contributions to the critical waterway, repeatedly accusing the ally of turning down his request.

"In order to make tangible contributions to the Strait of Hormuz, this should first be considered in light of our readiness posture on the Korean Peninsula, as well as in accordance with local legal procedures," the official said on condition of anonymity.

"We are thinking that we may be able to (make contributions) within the scope that does not compromise our readiness posture," the official said, adding that the ongoing discussion, however, has not reached the stage of seeking parliamentary approval and that no final decision has been made.

The official denied speculation that the Hormuz deployment issue has put a snag on the ongoing Seoul-Washington negotiations to push forward with their economic and defense agreement reached last year as part of a broader tariff deal.

The presidential official, however, acknowledged that the bilateral negotiations are not going well and that matters concerning semiconductors are also being discussed as part of the negotiations.

Earlier this week, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said that the Trump administration is working to develop a "targeted" and "thoughtful" tariff policy for semiconductors.

The presidential office Cheong Wa Dae (Yonhap)