Official says Seoul has 'own schedule' on PSI

SEOUL, April 5 (Yonhap) -- South Korea is moving at its own pace to join a U.S.-led anti-proliferation regime, a ranking South Korean official said Sunday after the North's missile launch.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said any moves by Seoul to join
the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) would not be a direct outcome of the
North Korean rocket, but noted an announcement of its official membership could
follow if Sunday's launch proves to have been a missile test.
"We are moving based on our own schedule, but you can understand it as a plan
already sitting on a conveyor belt," the official told reporters.
A foreign ministry spokesman said earlier there will be no immediate announcement
of Seoul joining the PSI despite the North's firing of a long-range rocket
earlier Sunday.
"We will take some time to assess the international response (to the North's
rocket launch)," Moon Tae-young told reporters.
South Korea has limited its role in the PSI, currently with 74 member states, to
act only as an observer in a bid not to antagonize the communist neighbor.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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