South Korea stops short of troop deployment in Hormuz talks with France

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed cooperation on security and freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz during a summit in Paris on Tuesday, but the talks did not concern troop deployment, Seoul's presidential office said.

Lee, who is on a state visit to France, said at a joint press conference that he had discussed the Strait of Hormuz with Macron as part of wider talks on international security issues.

"South Korea and France agreed to continue close coordination so that freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and the stability of global supply chains can be restored swiftly," Lee said.

The Strait of Hormuz is a critical energy transit route for South Korea, which relied on the waterway for 61 per cent of its crude oil imports and 54 per cent of its naphtha imports last year.