Seoul, Washington to Hold High-Level Defense Talks in Busan as Hormuz Deployment Looms Over Agenda

South Korea and the United States are set to hold their regular high-level defense dialogue in Busan from Wednesday through Friday this week, a meeting that comes as Seoul weighs whether to send military assets to the Strait of Hormuz under pressure from Washington.

The biannual Korea-US Integrated Defense Dialogue, known as KIDD, will be led on the South Korean side by Deputy Defense Minister for Policy Kim Hong-cheol, with George Lemeur, the US deputy assistant secretary of war for East Asia, heading the American delegation. Officials from both countries' foreign ministries are also expected to take part.

According to South Korea's defense ministry, the officially stated agenda covers a broad set of alliance issues, including Seoul's long-sought transfer of wartime operational control, the allies' joint defense posture, and expanding cooperation in shipbuilding. Notably, this marks the first time the KIDD talks have been held outside Seoul or Washington, with the ministry saying Busan was chosen to underscore the allies' commitment to deepening shipbuilding ties.

While not formally listed on the agenda, the talks are widely expected to touch on the sensitive question of a possible South Korean naval deployment to the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global oil shipping route where Washington has been pushing allies to help secure freedom of navigation. Seoul dispatched a team last week to the United Arab Emirates to assess the security situation near the strait, fueling speculation that a deployment decision may be drawing closer, even as the government insists no final decision has been made.

The prospect has already drawn a sharp warning from Iran, which cautioned that any military dispatch to the area by South Korea would bring about "serious consequences," without elaborating further. The episode places Seoul in a delicate position, balancing its security alliance commitments to Washington against the risk of straining relations with Tehran and destabilizing an already tense region.

On the OPCON front, South Korea is aiming to complete the second phase of verifying the combined forces' full operational capability and hopes to announce a target year for the transfer at a defense chiefs' meeting expected this fall. President Lee Jae Myung has signaled a desire to reclaim wartime command from the United States before his five-year term concludes in 2030, with some officials suggesting the transfer could happen as early as next year.

This week's session marks the second KIDD meeting of the year, following an earlier round held in Washington in May. Launched in 2011, the dialogue has served as one of the two governments' principal venues for coordinating on defense policy issues spanning military readiness, technology cooperation and broader strategic planning.