South Korea’s top military officer joined an international meeting convened by France to discuss the situation in the Middle East and potential postconflict maritime security measures, Seoul said Friday.
The virtual meeting, attended by chiefs of defense from 35 countries, was held Thursday under the chairmanship of French Chief of Defense Staff Gen. Fabien Mandon, according to the French Defense Ministry.
In a statement, the French ministry said the participants discussed the possible resumption of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz after the end of the US-Israeli conflict with Iran.
“The meeting served as an opportunity to gather the positions of countries willing to contribute to joint efforts aimed at ensuring the safety of maritime navigation in this strategic area,” the ministry said.
It added that the discussions were “purely defensive in nature” and unrelated to ongoing military operations in the region, stressing that the objective was to organize the resumption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz once hostilities cease.
From South Korea, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Kim Myung-soo attended the meeting, the JCS said.
“The participants shared the understanding that safe navigation in the Strait of Hormuz is critical to the security and economic interests of all countries,” the JCS said.
No concrete decisions were made regarding specific military contributions, with the meeting instead focusing on exchanging views and building a basic consensus among participating nations, according to officials.
Participants are also understood to have discussed a potential two-phase approach for future operations in the strait: first, detecting and clearing possible naval mines, and second, escorting commercial vessels such as oil tankers once safety is secured.
A JCS official said the Defense Ministry and JCS would “closely monitor international developments related to the Strait of Hormuz and continue communication for joint efforts,” adding that “government-level response measures will be carefully reviewed in close coordination with relevant ministries.”
Separately, the French Navy said it also held talks on Middle East issues with naval chiefs from countries including the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, India and Japan on the same day.
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