Seoul Delays Joining Anti-Proliferation Campaign
By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter
The government postponed the announcement of its full participation in a U.S.-led campaign to prevent proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) until this weekend, a foreign ministry official said Wednesday.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade originally planned to announce its decision to become a member of the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) Wednesday at the earliest. But the official did not elaborate on reasons why his ministry put off the announcement.
``We informed related countries of our plan to take part in the initiative and we should await their responses,'' the official said, asking to remain anonymous. ``We are also conducting internal procedures.''
North Korea has criticized South Korea's move to join the PSI, claiming that the South's participation in the initiative over its launching of what it called a ``communications satellite'' April 5 would be a declaration of war.
On Monday, the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) adopted a statement to condemn Pyongyang's launch of a long-range missile.
According to reports, UNSC members have been reviewing details on sanctions to impose on North Korea, which violated UNSC Resolution 1718 that bans any activity related to ballistic missiles.
The PSI is an international effort to prohibit the transaction of banned weapons and weapon technology.
It was launched in 2003 after a North Korean freighter with 15 Scud missiles on board was freed because there was no international law to confiscate them.
Currently, 94 countries are part of the initiative.
South Korea has been considering joining the global campaign in a bid to enlarge its role in the international community. Seoul has downplayed speculation that it was aiming to sanction North Korea.