South Korea opposed to U.S. deploying air defense systems in the country to Middle East

South Korea opposes US moving air defense assets out of the country but is not in a position to make a request, President Lee Jae Myung said on Tuesday.

Lee told the Cabinet, “USFK may send some air defense systems abroad in line with its own military needs. Although we have voiced our opposition, the truth is that we cannot fully advance our position.”

USFK refers to: US Forces KoreaIt is the command authority for Washington’s forces in South Korea, with approximately 28,500 personnel.

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun reportedly Washington is in talks with Seoul about redeploying Patriot air defense batteries in South Korea for use in the conflict in the Middle East, he said on Friday.

Addressing concerns about South Korea’s defense preparedness against North Korea, Lee said that even if assets are moved out of the country, This will not cause a “serious setback” in deterrence capability against North Korea, according to CNBC’s Korean-language comments.

Seoul’s relations with Pyongyang remain tense; Pyongyang’s leader Kim Jong Un calls the South “the most hostile entity.” Analysts have consistently predicted that combined South Korea-US forces on the peninsula superiors To North Korean forces.

“Temporary redeployment of Patriot missile defense systems or even limited offensive munitions will not disturb U.S. allies in Asia because North Korea is highly deterred by South Korean conventional forces and American nuclear weapons,” said Leif-Eric Easley, professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul.

But the Patriot is still a crucial element in Seoul’s defense against North Korea.

“Although South Korea has developed and deployed its own advanced missile defense systems, such as the Cheongung, the Patriot system remains an important component of its air defense architecture,” said Lami Kim, Director of Advanced Technologies, National Security and Defense at the International Institute for Strategic Studies Korea.

It was reported that South Korea’s Cheongung surface-to-air missile system, developed by LIG Nex1 and Hanwha Aerospace, was tested for the first time. first combat operations The United Arab Emirates deployed it against Iranian shells.

South Korean media reported several flights of US military transport aircraft at Osan Air Base since the Iran conflict started, noting that the C-5 Galaxy and C-17 Globemaster planes that were seen are used to typically carry Patriot systems and THAAD anti-ballistic missile systems.

The US move to deploy Patriot defense systems in South Korea to the Middle East comes against the background of reports that the air defense systems used by the Gulf countries are working. “dangerously low” on interceptors to defend against Iranian drone and missile attacks.

IISS’s Kim said U.S. missile supplies were already under serious pressure given the possibility that Iran would continue to retaliate and the conflict would drag on for a long time.

If the redeployment occurs, it would feed the perception that the United States is prioritizing its Middle East interests over an Asian ally, said Philip Shetler‑Jones, senior research fellow for Indo-Pacific security at the Royal United Services Institute, a U.K.-based think tank.

“Another plausible perception is that if it is happening at this stage, the United States may not have planned Iran’s response well,” he said, adding that if Seoul earns “model ally” status by spending more on defense and being self-reliant, you may be more on your own as a result.

— CNBC’s Blair Baek contributed to this story.