South Korea's Lee Rules Out Combat Role in Middle East, Eyes Shipping Protection

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has ruled out sending military assets to the Middle East in any capacity that could pull the country into the conflict there, even as his government weighs a larger part in protecting shipping lanes in the region.

"There won't be deployment that would involve or enter war. I can tell you that very clearly," Lee said at a wide-ranging news conference on Friday. "We won't deploy military assets in any form to that end."

At the same time, he said it was evident that Seoul must do what other nations do at a minimum to protect its commercial shipping, crude oil shipments and the safety of its citizens.

South Korea has kept a naval presence off the coast of Somalia for an anti-piracy mission, but has resisted calls from US President Donald Trump to take on a more active military role in supporting Washington over the war in Iran. The government has been reviewing a possible deployment to the Strait of Hormuz, an idea that has drawn little public support at home.

Trump has criticised Seoul for what he described as inadequate backing for the Iran war and scaled back major joint military drills between the two countries' forces this summer, a step that unsettled the US ally.

Investment talks

On negotiations over Seoul's investment commitments under its trade deal with Washington, Lee said the main obstacle was concern over the commercial viability of the package. He said some elements were hard for South Korea to accept, but that the two sides were moving closer to an agreement.

South Korea pledged last year to invest $350 billion in US manufacturing in exchange for Washington lowering tariffs on Korean imports to 15%. A parliamentary briefing on the investment plans, postponed this week, is now expected next week.

Trump-Kim meeting

Lee said a meeting between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un could take place in the coming months, though many factors would need to fall into place. "But what's clear is that President Trump wants talks, and I want him to as well, and we're continuing coordination to make dialogue between the North and the US possible," he said.

North Korean state media has remained largely silent on Trump's repeated calls for such a meeting. Trump has been pressing aides for a meeting with Kim as soon as the autumn, according to the Wall Street Journal.

No second term

With his approval ratings having fallen sharply in recent months, Lee said he was renewing his commitment to improving the lives of South Koreans and stated that his term would end in 2030 as the Constitution provides. Questions had arisen over whether Lee and his Democratic Party, which holds a parliamentary majority, might seek a constitutional amendment to allow him to run again.

"Let me say this firmly. I have no intention of seeking a consecutive term whatsoever," he said. The presidency is limited to a single five-year term, and a sitting president is specifically barred from any amendment affecting the presidential term.

Lee also said he would press ahead with measures to ease the concentration of the capital, Seoul, by designating Seoul as the economic capital and Sejong as the political capital. Many government agencies are already based in Sejong, about 120 km south of Seoul in the country's central region.