Key facts
- The motion extends the unit's area to waters south of Oman in the Arabian Sea and adds a maritime patrol aircraft and an explosive ordnance disposal team.
- A foreign ministry official said the government is proceeding under non-involvement and non-intervention principles to protect citizens and economic interests.
- The motion requires parliamentary consent after Cabinet approval before the expanded mission takes effect.
- Iran's foreign ministry asked Seoul on November 9 to stay out of the war, according to the report.
South Korea's foreign ministry said on November 10 that Seoul is proceeding with a motion to strengthen the mission of its anti-piracy Cheonghae unit under non-involvement and non-intervention principles, after Iran's foreign ministry on November 9 urged Korea to refrain from sending troops to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
The ministry official said the government has been communicating with Iran and other relevant countries on the matter. The Strait of Hormuz, a key energy shipping route, is described in the report as effectively blocked amid the war between the United States, Israel and Iran.
Earlier on November 10, the Cabinet approved the motion to expand the Cheonghae unit's operational scope. The motion now goes to the National Assembly for parliamentary consent. It calls for extending the unit's operational area to waters south of Oman in the Arabian Sea and deploying a maritime patrol aircraft and an explosive ordnance disposal team.
The report says Seoul plans to widen the unit's scope from anti-piracy patrols off the Somali coast to waters closer to the strait. The unit's 48th contingent operates from the 4,400-ton Wang Geon destroyer, which the navy said left Busan, about 330 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on May 15, 2026, to rotate with the previous crew in the Gulf of Aden.