South Korea opposes the US deploying the country’s air defense systems in the Middle East

South Korea opposes the United States removing its air defense assets from the country but is not in a position to make demands, President Lee Jae Myung said Tuesday.

Lee informed the cabinet that “USFK may send some air defense systems abroad according to its own military needs. While we have expressed our opposition, the reality is that we cannot fully advance our position.”

USFK refers to US Forces Korea, the command authority for Washington’s forces on the Korean Peninsula. The United States has about 28,500 troops in South Korea.

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun reportedly said on Friday that Washington was in talks with Seoul about redeploying Patriot air defense batteries to South Korea for use in the Middle East conflict.

To calm concerns about South Korea’s defense preparedness against North Korea, Lee maintained that even if the assets were taken out of the country, would not cause a “serious setback” to his deterrence capabilities against North Korea, according to a CNBC translation of his Korean comments.

Seoul’s relations with Pyongyang remain tense, with the latter’s leader Kim Jong Un calling the South the “most hostile entity.” Analysts have consistently assessed the combined forces of South Korea and the United States on the peninsula to be superior to North Korean forces.

“Temporary redeployment of Patriot missile defense systems and even limited quantities of offensive munitions would not unsettle US allies in Asia because North Korea is well deterred by South Korea’s conventional forces and US nuclear weapons,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor of international studies at Ewha Women’s University in Seoul.

However, the Patriot remains a crucial element in Seoul’s defense against North Korea.

“Although South Korea has developed and deployed its own sophisticated missile defense systems, such as Cheongung, the Patriot system remains an important component of its air defense architecture,” said Lami Kim, professor of Advanced Technologies, National Security and Defense of Korea at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

South Korea’s Cheongung surface-to-air missile system, developed by LIG Nex1 and Hanwha Aerospace, reportedly saw its first combat operations when the United Arab Emirates deployed it against Iranian projectiles.

South Korean media have reported on several flights by US military transport aircraft at Osan Air Base since the conflict with Iran began, noting that the C-5 Galaxy and C-17 Globemaster aircraft seen are typically used to transport Patriot systems and THAAD anti-ballistic missile systems.

The US decision to deploy South Korea’s Patriot defense systems in the Middle East comes against the backdrop of reports that air defense systems used by Gulf nations were falling “dangerously short” on interceptors to defend against Iranian drone and missile attacks.

IISS’s Kim said U.S. missile supplies are already under significant pressure as Iran continues to retaliate and the conflict is likely to be prolonged.

If the redeployment occurs, it will fuel the perception that the United States is prioritizing its interests in the Middle East over an Asian ally, according to Philip Shetler-Jones, senior fellow for Indo-Pacific Security at the Royal United Services Institute, a UK-based think tank.

“Another reasonable perception would be that if this is happening at this stage, the United States had not planned Iran’s response well,” he said, adding that if Seoul gains “model ally” status by spending more on defense and becoming self-sufficient, “the consequence may be that you will be left more alone.”

—CNBC’s Blair Baek contributed to this story.