President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Sunday. AP-Yonhap

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that Iran has taken shots at a South Korean cargo ship and other targets, noting that it is time for Seoul to participate in a mission to reopen the crucial Strait of Hormuz.

Trump made the remarks in a social media post as the United States launched an operation, called Project Freedom, to guide commercial vessels stranded by the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran, out of the waterway, a key shipping route for oil, fertilizer and other commodities.

"Iran has taken some shots at unrelated Nations with respect to the Ship Movement, PROJECT FREEDOM, including a South Korean Cargo Ship. Perhaps it's time for South Korea to come and join the mission!," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

"We've shot down seven small Boats or, as they like to call them, 'fast' Boats. It's all they have left. Other than the South Korean Ship, there has been, at this moment, no damage going through the Strait," he added.

Trump's comment on the South Korean vessel came after Seoul's foreign ministry said that an explosion occurred on a Panama-flagged ship operated by HMM Co., a major South Korean shipping firm, in the Strait of Hormuz, and that the cause of the explosion is under investigation.

The ship was anchored in waters near the United Arab Emirates within the strait. It was carrying 24 crew members on board — six South Koreans and 18 foreign nationals. No casualties were reported.

Trump's renewed call for South Korea to join the mission in the strait added pressure on the Asian country that relies heavily on the waterway for its energy imports. The strait is responsible for about a fifth of the world's oil supply.

Last month, the U.S. president pointed out that South Korea was "not helpful" to the U.S. despite America having stationed its troops "in harm's way" in the Asian country, which he stressed is located "right next to" North Korea's nuclear forces.

The explosion on the Korea-linked vessel came as the U.S. kicked off the new operation to restore freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has effectively blocked in the midst of the Middle East war.

Source: Korea Times News