Dispute Emerges Between Seoul and Washington Over Explosion on Korean Ship in the Strait of Hormuz; Trump Pressures Seoul to Join Operation

[Financial News] There is a sharp divergence between the South Korean government and the United States over the explosion and fire that damaged a Korean ship while it was anchored in the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. President Donald Trump directly blamed Iran for the incident and pressed South Korea to join the operation. In contrast, the South Korean government did not point to Iran as the cause of the accident or issue an immediate protest.
On the 5th, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said only that it was concerned about the explosion and fire that broke out on a Korean vessel anchored in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs convened a meeting of the Overseas Koreans Protection Countermeasure Headquarters immediately after an explosion and fire occurred on the HMM Namu, a vessel operated by a Korean shipping company, which had been anchored in waters near the United Arab Emirates inside the Strait of Hormuz. Around midnight that day, Kim Jin-ah, Second Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, chaired a meeting of the headquarters with seven diplomatic missions in the Middle East and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries in attendance.
Vice Minister Kim said, "Fortunately, there were no casualties this time, but it is important to identify the cause and prevent a similar incident from happening again." However, the ministry did not single out Iran or issue a protest over the explosion. Kim expressed only deep concern over the fact that a Korean vessel inside the Strait of Hormuz had been damaged for the first time since the outbreak of the Middle East war.
By contrast, U.S. President Donald Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social on the 4th local time, "Iran fired at some vessels, including one Korean cargo ship, and at countries that were not involved in the ship-movement project called 'Project Freedom.'" He added, "It is probably time for South Korea to participate and join this operation."
Trump also stressed, "Excluding the Korean ship, there has been no damage so far, and there is no damage at this moment, to passage through the (Hormuz) Strait."
The South Korean government has decided to focus first on handling the explosion and ensuring the safety of the crew. The Embassy of the Republic of Korea to the United Arab Emirates and the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Dubai contacted the shipping company and related agencies immediately after the incident to confirm the safety of the Korean crew and request necessary assistance.
The Embassy of the Republic of Korea to the United Arab Emirates, the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Dubai, the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Iran, the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Saudi Arabia, the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Iraq, the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Qatar, and the Embassy of the Republic of Korea to the Sultanate of Oman also plan to cooperate. Vice Minister Kim emphasized, "It is important to be fully prepared so that we can swiftly take the necessary steps at any time in the future to protect the lives and safety of our crew members."

rainman@fnnews.com Kim Kyung-soo Reporter