S. Korea consults with U.S. on its PSI role: ministry

By Lee Chi-dong
SEOUL, April 13 (Yonhap) -- South Korea has informed the United States and some
other allies of its plan to join the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI),
officials here said Monday.
"We consulted with allied countries including the U.S. on the issue," foreign
ministry spokesman Moon Tae-young said in his regular press briefing. "We
notified them of our plan."
Moon did not provide details including when and how the notification was made, as
well as the countries' responses.
"I don't want to go into details as I think you can guess (their responses)," he
added.
He reaffirmed that the government will soon decide when to announce its
participation in the PSI, taking into account the U.N. measure against North
Korea's April 5 rocket launch. The PSI, launched in 2003 by the U.S., is a global
effort to stop the trafficking of weapons of mass destruction and related
materials. North Korea is apparently a main target.
The 15-member U.N. Security Council is about to issue a presidential statement
condemning the launch which Pyongyang claims was aimed at sending a satellite
into orbit but is suspected to be cover for a long-range missile test.
According to an agreed-upon draft, expected to be endorsed formally on Tuesday
(Seoul time), the Security Council concludes the North's launch contravenes
Resolution 1718, which prohibits the communist nation from conducting a ballistic
missile test.
"If the presidential statement is adopted, the U.N. Security Council would be
able to send a clear message to the international community on North Korea by
issuing a swift and unified response," Moon said.
lcd@yna.co.kr
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