Cheong Wa Dae's acknowledgment Friday that Korea is reviewing military options to support navigation in the Strait of Hormuz is a pragmatic response to growing alliance and economic pressures. It's the clearest indication yet from President Lee Jae Myung's administration that Seoul is prepared to address concerns over strains in the Korea-U.S. alliance. The announcement came just before Lee's departure for a visit to France, which, alongside Britain, has co-led an initiative for nations to jointly oversee safe navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. The presidential office’s recent public rebuke of U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim that Korea declined to support his war against Iran signals that Seoul is prepared to address the strains emerging in the bilateral alliance. When Trump ordered an abrupt reduction in the Ulchi Freedom Shield joint military drills recently, he connected it with Lee's purported refusal to support the U.S. war in Iran. On the trade front, Washington's growing sentiment was that Seoul is moving too slowly on its pledged $350 billion investment in the U.S., as