(EDITORIAL from the Korea Herald on April 17) - Dithering on PSI

The government has postponed the announcement of its full participation in the Proliferation Security Initiative, effectively removing any teeth from such action.

The announcement was expected to come Wednesday but put off at the last minute to
possibly this weekend. The government has not been able to offer any meaningful
response to North Korea's firing of a rocket - suspected to be a long-range
ballistic missile - other than to issue a statement saying that North Korea had
violated the U.N. Security Council sanction banning it from missile development.
South Korea now gives the impression of wavering on its decision to fully join
the U.S.-led effort to fight the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
In the weeks leading up to the pre-announced rocket launch, the government said
it would consider joining the PSI, should Pyongyang proceed with the suspected
long-range missile launch.
In the immediate aftermath of Sunday's launch, Seoul said that it would soon
declare full-participation in the PSI. In the following days, that position
changed to one of "wait-and-see" with the government saying that it was looking
for the appropriate time to make the announcement.
The scheduled proclamation, which was to take place at the Foreign Ministry on
Wednesday morning, was abruptly postponed. A last minute change of mind is
reported to have taken place at a Blue House meeting on Wednesday morning. The
ostensible reason for the postponement is that discussions with concerned
countries are still ongoing and that the government's own internal procedure has
not been completed.
China's ambassador publicly voiced his country's opposition to Korea's
participation in the PSI during a lecture Wednesday, raising the possibility that
China's opposition to the PSI may be a stumbling block. It may be, but South
Korea's full participation in the PSI is not contingent upon "approval" by
"concerned countries."
The administration said that it had decided to become a full member of the PSI.
Yet, why is it postponing its announcement? Is it really about timing or has
there been a change of mind?
Whatever the case may be, this type of ad-hoc approach to an issue that could
have significant ramifications on inter-Korean relations, at a time when all ties
are frozen, does nothing to advance Seoul's interests.
The administration should have carefully considered the PSI issue from all
angles, including possible responses by Pyongyang as well as other concerned
countries, before all but declaring its full participation in the PSI.
Pyongyang had said that it would consider South Korea's PSI participation a
declaration of war. And now the government finds itself in an awkward position of
playing down the significance of full participation. To some observers, it would
appear that Seoul has caved in to Pyongyang's threat.
The administration's dithering on the PSI issue will prove to be costly because
it has set a bad precedent. A threat has no deterrent power if it is not
credible. If the government has decided to embark on full-participation in the
PSI, it should then proceed. What it claims to be doing now - discussing the
matter with concerned countries - should have taken place before it stated its
intention to participate fully in the PSI.
(END)