Seoul: A senior Cheong Wa Dae official said Sunday that the government could consider an additional supplementary budget in the second half should the Middle East crisis persist.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Hong Ik-pyo, presidential secretary for political affairs, made the remarks in a radio interview, denying the main opposition's claim that the 26.2 trillion-won (US$17.3 billion) extra budget bill, pending a parliamentary review, is aimed at gaining political leverage ahead of the upcoming June 3 local elections.

"We are cautiously projecting that if the situation in the Middle East is prolonged, we might need an additional supplementary budget in the second half, even after the current extra budget," Hong said on MBN radio. Hong cited downward revisions of about 0.4 percentage point to South Korea's growth outlook for this year by research institutes at home and abroad, as well as a continued uptrend in fuel prices despite tax cuts. "We do not know how many more months the war in the Middle East will last, and even after it ends, it will take at least three to four months for supply channels to normalize," he said.

Regarding U.S. President Donald Trump's calls for allies to assist his war efforts against Iran, Hong reiterated a cautious stance. "We remain very cautious," he said. "The United States has not formally requested South Korea deploy troops."

He went on to note that any country would face diplomatic burdens in sending troops or providing military support, saying that this war did not begin after prior diplomatic consultations or close coordination. "It is also difficult to reach any conclusion at the U.N. Security Council level due to opposition from China and Russia," he said. "In this regard, there are significant limitations in our ability to provide support under international law."