South Korea is delaying definitive blame for a ship strike, despite preliminary evidence pointing to Iranian drones. The government is adopting a cautious approach, likely awaiting outcomes of the upcoming US-China summit.

South Korea is treading carefully in attributing blame for the strike on one of its cargo ships earlier this month, even as preliminary signs point to Iranian drones being the culprit. Seoul has surveillance footage of the incident in the early hours of May 4 – when two airborne objects struck the HMM Namu while it lay at anchor off the United Arab Emirates – but so far has said little. Observers believe the government is biding its time and waiting to deliver a verdict until after a highly...