Seoul faces tough Hormuz calculus ahead of Cho-Rubio talks

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun is currently in Washington, D.C., from Thursday to Saturday, engaging in talks with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The agenda for these discussions encompasses several key topics, such as the possibility of deploying troops to Hormuz, the potential informal summit between President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump at the U.N.

General Assembly, and various unresolved bilateral issues. This visit comes amidst a backdrop of growing domestic opposition in South Korea to any military commitment in the Middle East.

On Friday, Cho will meet with Secretary Rubio to discuss a wide array of subjects, including bilateral relations, issues surrounding the Korean Peninsula, and regional and global matters. This will be their first formal bilateral session since February, during which time they focused primarily on implementing a joint fact sheet.

Under this agreement, South Korea committed to investing $350 billion in the United States, while the U.S. granted Seoul permission to develop nuclear-powered submarines. The two foreign ministers also met informally in Manila in July. It is anticipated that their upcoming session will cover a follow-up to these previous discussions.