It`s time for Korea to join PSI: think tank

A state-run think tank yesterday called for South Korea`s full participation in a U.S.-led anti-proliferation regime, to curb the North`s possible attempt to sell nuclear technology and materials.

"Our country, which has shunned its active role in the PSI despite threats of North Korea`s nuclear proliferation, should reconsider its policy on the PSI toward official participation," professor Lee Seo-hang at the Institute of the Foreign Affairs and National Security said in a report. The IFANS is affiliated with the Foreign Ministry.

"It is proper for us to declare our official and open support to the PSI, and expand our participation step by step." Lee said. "Counter-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is a universal value of human kind just as human rights."

PSI is a U.S.-led global network fighting against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and calls on signatories to search suspicious ships passing through their waters.

South Korea has been reluctant to officially participate in PSI in consideration of North Korea`s possible protest.

Seoul currently joins five of the eight PSI activities as an observer, mostly by watching briefings and training. The remaining three activities include formally participating in the PSI, providing physical support for regional drills and engaging in drills outside the region.

"The PSI is anticipated to be enhanced under the incoming administration of Obama. We should reevaluate the value and performance the PSI in a positive way given that the efforts to end North Korean nuclear program are in a stalemate," Lee said.

U.S. President-elect Barack Obama has been an ardent advocate of the PSI since he served as Senator, Lee said.

In the recent Obama-Biden plan, Obama also said he will beef up the PSI to prevent terrorists from acquiring nuclear weapons and ensure the security of nuclear materials.

South Korea`s recalcitrance to the PSI has always been a thorn in relations with United States.

Washington urged Seoul to fully join the initiative in 2006 following North Korea`s October nuclear test, but the previous Roh Moo-hyun administration decided against it, saying the nation`s sensitive relationship with Pyongyang was more important.

North Korea has frequently criticized the PSI, calling it a product of Washington`s hostile policy against Pyongyang.

Seoul has been concerned that a full participation could trigger tension with the North, such as armed clashes at sea when the government attempts to check North Korean cargo ships.

Opponents here have pointed out that there is already an existing inter-Korean maritime agreement that permits the South to inspect cargo to and from North Korea.

The PSI was initiated by U.S. President George W. Bush on May 31, 2003, to help stop the spread of weapons of mass destruction through international cooperation. The program now has more than 90 member states and 70 of them engage in regional joint exercises.

By Jin Dae-woong



(davidpooh@heraldm.com)