Minister Ahn Gyu-baek of the Ministry of National Defense said on the 24th regarding the dispatch of warships to the Strait of Hormuz that "we have not yet received an official letter from the U.S. side, but we are working closely together behind the scenes."
Minister Ahn answered this way at a full meeting of the National Defense Committee of the National Assembly that day to a question from Kim Byung-joo of the Democratic Party of Korea asking whether there had been any change in the government's position on troop deployment. Minister Ahn said, "I understand there has been no formal request," adding, "That does not mean there is no mutual consultation with the U.S. We are consulting and communicating closely with each other regarding the war in the Middle East."
Minister Ahn said at the National Assembly on the 17th that there had been no official request from the United States regarding the deployment to the Strait of Hormuz. However, Minister Cho Hyun of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs answered at the National Assembly the same day that "you could call it a request, or not, that's the situation." To the question of whether his position differed from that of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Minister Ahn said, "The positions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of National Defense are not much different. There is only a difference in wording."
U.S. President Donald Trump noted on Truth Social on the 14th that "hopefully, China, France, Japan, Korea, the United Kingdom, and other countries affected by the (Strait of Hormuz blockade) will send warships here."
The Ministry of National Defense's position is that the Cheonghae Unit is not prepared to carry out a mission in the Strait of Hormuz and that National Assembly approval is required for deployment.