South Korea opposed to U.S. moving air defense systems in the country to Middle East: President Lee

South Korea is opposed to the U.S. moving air defense assets out of the country, but it is not in a position to make demands, President Lee Jae Myung said Tuesday. Lee briefed the cabinet that "The USFK may dispatch some air defense systems abroad in accordance with its own military needs. While we have expressed opposition, the reality is that we cannot fully push through our position." The USFK refers to U.S. Forces Korea, the command authority for Washington's forces in the Korean Peninsula. The U.S. has about 28,500 personnel in South Korea. South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun reportedly ​said on ​Friday that Washington was in talks with Seoul over redeploying Patriot air defense batteries in South Korea for use in the conflict in the Middle East. Quelling concerns over South Korea's defense preparedness against North Korea, Lee maintained that even if the assets were moved out of the country, it would not cause a "serious setback" to its deterrence capability against North Korea, according to a CNBC translation of his comments in Korean. A South Korean Air Force Patriot launch pad displayed at the Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition at Seoul Airport in Seongnam, South Korea, on Monday, Oct. 18, 2021. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images Seoul's relations with Pyongyang remain strained, with the latter's leader Kim Jong Un calling the South the "most hostile entity." Analysts have consistently assessed that the combined South Korean-U.S. forces on the peninsula are superior to North Korean forces. "The temporary redeployment of Patriot missile defense systems and even limited quantities of offensive munitions would not rattle U.S. allies in Asia because North Korea is well deterred by South Korean conventional forces and American nuclear weapons," said Leif-Eric Easley, professor of international studies at Seoul's Ewha Womans University. However, the Patriot is still a crucial element in Seoul's defense against North Korea. "Although South Kor...