2 months ago
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French President Emmanuel Macron and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung agreed connected Friday (April 3, 2026) to enactment unneurotic to assistance reopen the Strait of Hormuz and easiness planetary economical uncertainties caused by the warfare successful West Asia.
Their acme successful Seoul came arsenic U.S. President Donald Trump slammed allies for not supporting the U.S. and Israeli warfare against Iran. Mr. Macron was making his archetypal sojourn to South Korea since taking bureau successful 2017 arsenic portion of an Asian circuit that already has taken him to Japan.
Mr. Macron told Mr. Lee astatine the commencement of the gathering that the 2 countries tin play a relation successful helping to stabilise the concern successful West Asia, including the Strait of Hormuz, according to South Korean media.
At a associated televised briefing afterwards, Mr. Macron underscored the request for France and South Korea to cooperate to assistance reopen the strait and de-escalate West Asia animosities, portion Mr. Lee said the 2 affirmed “their resoluteness to cooperate to unafraid the harmless shipping way successful the Strait of Hormuz.”
The 2 leaders did not instrumentality questions and did not elaborate connected however they would assistance reopen the strait, the constrictive waterway betwixt Iran and Oman done which astir one-fifth of the world's lipid passes.
Mr. Lee said helium and Mr. Macron agreed to grow practice successful technology, vigor and different areas. South Korean and French officials besides signed agreements to cooperate connected atomic substance proviso chains, jointly put successful an offshore upwind task successful confederate South Korea and to collaborate connected captious minerals.
Mr. Macron's Asia travel comes as Mr. Trump has ramped up his vexation with allies. In a code connected Wednesday (April 1, 2026), Mr. Trump said Americans “don't need” the Strait but the countries that bash “must drawback it and cherish it.”
“Let South Korea, you know, we lone person 45,000 soldiers successful harm's mode implicit there, close adjacent to a atomic unit — fto South Korea bash it,” Mr. Trump said. “Let Japan bash it. They get 90% of their lipid from the Strait. Let China bash it.” Mr. Macron has said reopening the Strait of Hormuz done a subject cognition was unrealistic.
South Korean officials person said they were successful interaction with Washington connected the contented and that Seoul wasn't considering paying Iran transit fees to unafraid substance shipments done the strait.
The United States stations astir 28,000 troops successful South Korea, not the 45,000 stated by Mr. Trump. The U.S. troops' deployment successful South Korea is meant to deter imaginable aggression from North Korea.
