Officials in Seoul and Washington are monitoring the possibility that, should the conflict with Iran extend beyond initial expectations, some U.S. military assets currently based in South Korea — including air defense systems and other rapidly deployable units — could be sent temporarily to the Middle East, a prospect that has raised concern about readiness on the Korean Peninsula. Military experts interviewed by The Korea Times said a limited redeployment, particularly of air defense systems, could not be ruled out. Still, they emphasized that any such move would likely be carefully calibrated to avoid weakening allied deterrence on the peninsula. Washington has drawn on forces from the Korean Peninsula in the past. Between March and October last year, it redeployed two Patriot missile batteries and roughly 500 service members from U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) to the Middle East. Those units were used to bolster defenses at American installations in Qatar after Iran fired missiles in June following U.S. strikes on its nuclear sites. Given this precedent, experts say Patriot systems coul