S. Korea may join anti-proliferation campaign to protest N. Korean weapons

By Sam Kim

SEOUL, March 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korea may fully join a U.S.-led
anti-proliferation campaign to protest North Korea's development of missile and nuclear weapons technology, its defense spokesman said Friday.

"It could be a form of protest that can pressure North Korea," Won Tae-jae said,
speaking to reporters at the Ministry of National Defense.
Won's comments come as North Korea is preparing to launch what it calls a
satellite between April 4-8. Neighbors say it could be a long-range ballistic
missile capable of reaching Alaska.
South Korea has participated in the U.S.-led Proliferation Security Initiative as
an observer since 2005. The previous liberal administration limited its role
because it did not want to strain its ties with North Korea, one of the
campaign's prime targets.
South Korean Defense Minister Lee Sang-hee said last month his country may now
need to expand its participation in the PSI.
"Under these circumstances, in which North Korea is developing long-range
missiles and nuclear weapons, it is time for South Korea to reconsider its
participation in the PSI," he said at a parliamentary hearing.
Relations between the Koreas have degraded to their lowest point in a decade
since South Korean President Lee Myung-bak took office last year with a tougher
stance on Pyongyang. North Korea has reacted bitterly, denouncing the
conservative as a "traitor" trying to topple its regime.
North Korea conducted its first known atomic test in 2006.