The United States and Iran agreed on a two-week ceasefire and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday (local time), with analysts saying Korea's energy supply crisis that had been squeezing the economy and industry has cleared a major hurdle. However, the prevailing assessment is that it is too early to say Middle East tensions have been fully resolved, as Iran's uranium enrichment rights could emerge as a sticking point in future negotiations.
Experts predict this crisis will trigger a survival competition among major countries to reduce their dependence on the Middle East. Korea also needs to diversify its crude oil import sources and more thoroughly reorganize supply chains for raw materials essential to manufacturing, including naphtha. With Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik set to visit Kazakhstan, Oman, and Saudi Arabia as a special envoy for strategic economic cooperation, observers are also calling for visible results within two weeks.
"Even though a two-week ceasefire has been declared, uncertainty has not been fully resolved," a senior government official said. "If I compare it to a sports match, we've been given a timeout, so now is the time to quickly recover our strength and devise new strategies."
