The US military is moving Patriot missiles from South Korea to the Middle East

South Korea's Yonhap news agency quoted sources as saying on Friday that Seoul and Washington recently agreed on a plan to temporarily move US Patriot missile batteries from South Korea to the Middle East.

According to the sources, "the two allies agreed last month to a partial deployment of Patriot Advanced Capability-3 batteries for a month, the first known instance of US military assets being moved from South Korea to the Middle East."

This rare move comes after NBC News reported last week that US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had authorized the transfer of at least two Patriot missile batteries from Asia to the Middle East, as the United States engages in military action against the Houthis in Yemen.

But it also comes amid growing concerns in South Korea that Washington may demand that Seoul bear more of the costs of stationing US troops in South Korea, or reconsider the role of US forces in South Korea, as US President Donald Trump pursues a new approach to Washington's alliances.

Yonhap quoted the sources as saying that these missiles, which will be transferred, "operate alongside South Korea's own air defense assets in a multi-layered missile defense system against North Korea's missile and nuclear threats."

It should be noted that since March 15, the United States has launched a military operation against the Houthis in Yemen.

"We will use overwhelming lethal force to achieve our objective," US President Donald Trump said at the time, accusing the Houthis of threatening maritime traffic in the Red Sea. He added, "To all Houthi terrorists, your time is up, and your attacks must stop, starting today."

These US strikes represent the first against Yemen since Trump took office in January, following Houthi threats to resume their attacks on Israeli ships in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, which they have carried out in recent months in support of the Palestinians in their war with Israel in Gaza.