It looks like the tight relationship that South Korea has built with UAE over many years is now paying off with this announcement:

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has pledged to treat Korea as its top priority for crude oil exports, President Lee Jae Myung’s top aide said Wednesday, announcing that a total of 24 million barrels have been secured from the Gulf country as Tehran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz threatens to squeeze Seoul’s energy supply. 

“The UAE promised that Korea is the ‘No. 1 priority’ in supplying crude oil and we agreed that Korea could buy oil anytime through the UAE,” presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik said at a briefing.

In addition to 6 million barrels of crude oil under a previous agreement, the UAE promised this time that an additional 18 million barrels would be shipped to Korea. Roughly 6 million barrels will be shipped by three UAE cargo ships, while six Korean vessels will transport the remainder. Kang added that Seoul and Abu Dhabi plan to sign a memorandum of understanding on the oil supply chain in the near future.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

In 5-6 weeks there may not even be an Islamic Republic of Iran for Trump and Xi to talk about:

U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on March 17, 2026, in this photo released by UPI. (Yonhap)

U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he expects to travel to China for a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping “in about five or six weeks,” after delaying the planned trip because of the ongoing war with Iran.

Trump made the remarks during a meeting with Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin in the Oval Office, noting that his administration is “resetting” the high-stakes meeting between him and Xi in Beijing. He was initially expected to visit China from March 31 to April 2.

“It looks like it’ll take place in about five weeks. We are working with China. They were fine with it,” Trump said, responding to a reporter’s question about the delayed trip.

“I look forward to seeing President Xi. He looks forward to seeing me, I think … We have a good relationship with China,” he added.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Is it just me or has Trump’s messaging for the Iran War been horrible?:

 U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the United States no longer needs naval assistance from North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies, South Korea, Japan or Australia to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, citing “military success” in ongoing operations against Iran.

Trump made the remarks in a social media post after calling on allies and partners to help reopen the strait that has been effectively closed by the ongoing war between the U.S., Israel and Iran. The crucial waterway carries about one-fifth of the world’s oil supply.

In a press availability later, Trump also said that NATO is “making a foolish mistake,” showing his displeasure of NATO members’ reluctance to accept his request for support in keeping the strait open, such as sending naval ships to escort merchant vessels through the channel.

“Because of the fact that we have had such Military Success, we no longer ‘need,’ or desire, the NATO Countries’ assistance — WE NEVER DID! Likewise, Japan, Australia, or South Korea,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“In fact, speaking as President of the United States of America, by far the Most Powerful Country Anywhere in the World, WE DO NOT NEED THE HELP OF ANYONE!”

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

INDOPACOM has been sending troops and assets to deal with Middle East contingencies for many years. This is nothing new. If these recent deployments lead to the collapse of the Iranian regime that means the U.S. can truly focus on the Pacific in the future instead of constantly dealing with crisis is the Middle East:

Former senior U.S. officials expressed concerns Monday that U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has “vacated” some of America’s key military deterrence assets in the Indo-Pacific amid the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran despite growing Chinese threats in what it calls a “priority” theater.

Their remarks came amid reports that Washington has moved parts of its THAAD missile defense system in South Korea to the Middle East, and is dispatching over 2,000 U.S. Marines of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) in Japan to the volatile region, while there is no operational U.S. aircraft carrier in the Indo-Pacific.

“A very large component of the American military capability that is there to deter in the Indo-Pacific has been vacated,” one former U.S. official said in a meeting with reporters.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

The irony of a country that regularly fires missiles that land off the coast of Japan and have even fired missiles over the country complaining about Japan deploying their own missiles to protect themselves in response:

North Korea on Friday condemned Japan’s plan to deploy upgraded long-range missiles across the country, calling the move a dangerous military escalation, according to the communist regime’s state-run media. The criticism was reported by the Korean Central News Agency, which said the deployments would allow Japan to target neighboring countries from multiple locations. The missile deployments are “undoubtably an extremely dangerous military act,” KCNA said. “If this becomes reality, Japan would be deploying missiles capable of targeting neighboring countries across the entire nation.”

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but what the Japanese should do is for every North Korean missile tests that lands near Japan, they should fire a Type-12 missile that lands near North Korea in response.

I understand what Trump is saying, but this is going to be a very hard sell for Korea and Japan to send ships to be involved in an active shooting war to escort tanker ships through the Strait. China on the other hand would likely be reluctant to be seen as helping the U.S. against their ally Iran:

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday renewed his calls for South Korea, China, Japan and other countries to help keep the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil shipping route off Iran, open amid growing concerns over disruptions to shipping through the vital waterway.

Trump made the calls during a meeting with trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts at the White House, highlighting that the United States’ military has “protected” allies and partners for a long time, and that the U.S. never asked for “reimbursement” for maintaining the strait.

Iran has effectively shut the strait, escalating concerns about the war’s impact on oil prices. The waterway is responsible for about a fifth of the world’s oil supply.

“We strongly encourage other nations whose economies depend on this strait far more than ours. We get less than 1 percent of our oil from the strait and some countries get much more,” Trump said.

“Japan gets 95 percent. China gets 90 percent. Many of the Europeans get quite a bit. South Korea gets 35 percent. So we want them to come and help us with the strait,” he added.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but he is also calling on NATO nations to escort ships as well. He is clearly trying to internationalize the Strait of Hormuz issue to get it reopened. If the Strait is reopened and the U.S. captures Kharg Island where 90% of Iran’s oil is exported from the war is over. The regime will crumble without the oil revenue and global pressure relieved on oil prices with the Strait reopened.