US affirms Korea defence after report on moving weaponry to Iran

The US stations around 27,000 soldiers in South Korea. Read more at straitstimes.com.

SEOUL – The US military said it remained committed to defending South Korea against the nuclear-armed North after local media reported that Washington was considering redeploying regional US military assets to the Middle East as conflict with Iran spirals.

United States Forces Korea – which oversees the US military presence on the Korean Peninsula – told Bloomberg News that it remains focused on maintaining a strong, ready and combat-credible force posture on the Korean Peninsula and is firmly committed to defending South Korea.

The comment comes after Korean-language newspaper the DongA Ilbo reported on March 5 that Seoul and Washington were in consultations regarding US munitions requirements and the possible redeployment of US Forces Korea assets to the Middle East, citing an unidentified South Korean government official.

The US stations around 27,000 soldiers in South Korea and has multiple air defence systems located on the peninsula, including Patriot batteries and the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system. South Korea remains technically at war with the North, as the 1950 to 1953 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.

The US expanded its military offensive against Iran over the weekend, with hostilities showing no sign of abating on March 5 as Tehran continued to launch retaliatory strikes across the Middle East, including against Israel and Gulf partners. The US sank an Iranian warship in international waters, marking the first time since World War II that an American submarine has attacked a surface vessel. 

If the Middle East conflict is prolonged, key USFK assets, including ATACMS tactical surface-to-surface missiles, could be dispatched to the Middle East to help make up for potential shortages of US munitions, the DongA Ilbo report said.