watch nowSouth Korean stocks rose Monday to hit a fresh record, following their strongest monthly gain in 28 years, as investors weighed the latest development around the Middle East conflict.The U.S. would attempt to "free" stranded ships affected by the Strait of Hormuz closure since the start of the Iran war, U.S. President Trump said in his Truth Social post Sunday.Dubbed "Project Freedom," the effort is set to begin on Monday, Middle East time and will focus mainly on getting civilian ships flagged in countries not affiliated with the conflict out of the contested waterway so they can "freely and ably get on with their business.""U.S. military support to Project Freedom will include guided-missile destroyers, over 100 land and sea-based aircraft, multi-domain unmanned platforms, and 15,000 service members," the U.S. Central Command said shortly after Trump's announcement.Oil prices were volatile as investors continued to assess President Trump's "Project Freedom" plan. West Texas Intermediate futures for June delivery rose 0.98% to $102.92 per barrel in the early hours of Monday ET. International benchmark Brent crude futures for July were up 1.07% to $109.31 per barrel.Other Asia-Pacific indexes were mostly higher. The Kospi index ended Monday's session 5.12% higher at 6,936.99. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix both rose to record intraday highs, gaining 5.44% and 12.52% respectively, buoyed by positive sentiment following U.S. tech earnings. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was the main laggard in Monday's trade, declining 0.37% to 8,697.10. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 1.26% in its last hour of afternoon trade, while India's Nifty 50 gained 0.44%.Markets in Japan and China were closed for a public holiday.Stock Chart IconStock chart icon