ID :
62528
Tue, 05/26/2009 - 12:33
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/62528
The shortlink copeid
(News Focus) S. Korea plays PSI card to counter N. Korea's brinkmanship
By Lee Chi-dong
SEOUL, May 26 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's decision to fully participate in the
Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) highlights its own resolve to stand its
ground against North Korea's continued provocations and play a bigger role in
global security.
It also represents a major policy U-turn, prompted by North Korea's April 5
rocket launch and nuclear test on Monday, from several years of maintaining a
tepid stance toward the U.S.-led campaign to interdict suspected cross-border
proliferation activity.
"(Participation in the PSI) is a natural obligation for a mature country," Foreign
Minister Yu Myung-hwan told a parliamentary meeting to discuss the impact of the
latest nuclear test. "It will help control North Korea's development of dangerous
material."
Realistically, the PSI is one of the few remaining cards Seoul can play against
Pyongyang, as all but one joint venture -- the Kaesong industrial park -- has
been shut down since the inauguration of South Korea's conservative Lee Myung-bak
administration early last year.
The Lee government has suspended food and fertilizer assistance for the North.
Seoul remains committed to keeping the Kaesong complex alive, as it has invested
nearly US$700 million in the project.
South Korea's role in the PSI is a politically and ideologically sensitive issue.
The initiative, primarily aimed at interdicting suspected ships, is not directed
at any nation in particular. But North Korea -- notorious for exporting weapons
of mass destruction and related materials -- is widely viewed as a main target.
North Korea has repeatedly warned it would regard the South's participation in
the PSI as a declaration of war. That stance made Seoul's former liberal
governments reluctant to fully join the effort, opting instead to follow the
so-called "sunshine policy" of engaging the communist neighbor.
South Korea's previous administrations also worried about the possibility of
armed conflict if any attempt were made to interdict a North Korean vessel, and
limited their participation in the PSI to observing offshore drills.
The current Lee government faced a similar dilemma. It had planned to declare
participation in the PSI shortly after the North's rocket launch in April, but
calls for a more cautious approach grew as the Kaesong industrial zone appeared
to be in peril. A South Korean worker there continues to be detained by North
Korea on allegations he criticized its political system and urged a North Korean
woman to defect. Amid such developments, Seoul delayed a formal announcement on
the PSI several times.
The North's nuclear test put an end to the dilemma.
"As North Korea has conducted a more powerful nuclear test than the previous one
and fired missiles, there is no reason to waste time any longer," said Lee
Dong-kwan, spokesman for the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae.
Many experts here expressed understanding on the decision, saying it was
triggered by North Korea's provocative steps.
"I think participation in the PSI, albeit late, has become an inevitable choice
due to North Korea's nuclear test," Korea University professor Yoo Ho-yeol said.
Dongguk University professor Koh Yu-hwan agreed. "North Korea provided South
Korea with the reason for doing so," he said. "It is seen as reflecting the South
Korean government's will to focus on counter-proliferation efforts along with the
international community, braving the worsening of inter-Korean relations for the
time being at a time when tensions have escalated following North Korea's nuclear
test," he added.
Koh dismissed concerns over an armed clash between the two Koreas due to Seoul's
activity for the PSI. "It is likely to play a largely symbolic role around the
Korean Peninsula," he said.
Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, was
more skeptical.
"South Korea's tit-for-tat action is expected to increase tensions on the Korean
Peninsula, not to mention entirely cut off inter-Korean relations," he said.
He said the North may try armed conflict in the West Sea or test-fire an
intercontinental ballistic missile at an early date in response.
lcd@yna.co.kr
(END)
SEOUL, May 26 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's decision to fully participate in the
Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) highlights its own resolve to stand its
ground against North Korea's continued provocations and play a bigger role in
global security.
It also represents a major policy U-turn, prompted by North Korea's April 5
rocket launch and nuclear test on Monday, from several years of maintaining a
tepid stance toward the U.S.-led campaign to interdict suspected cross-border
proliferation activity.
"(Participation in the PSI) is a natural obligation for a mature country," Foreign
Minister Yu Myung-hwan told a parliamentary meeting to discuss the impact of the
latest nuclear test. "It will help control North Korea's development of dangerous
material."
Realistically, the PSI is one of the few remaining cards Seoul can play against
Pyongyang, as all but one joint venture -- the Kaesong industrial park -- has
been shut down since the inauguration of South Korea's conservative Lee Myung-bak
administration early last year.
The Lee government has suspended food and fertilizer assistance for the North.
Seoul remains committed to keeping the Kaesong complex alive, as it has invested
nearly US$700 million in the project.
South Korea's role in the PSI is a politically and ideologically sensitive issue.
The initiative, primarily aimed at interdicting suspected ships, is not directed
at any nation in particular. But North Korea -- notorious for exporting weapons
of mass destruction and related materials -- is widely viewed as a main target.
North Korea has repeatedly warned it would regard the South's participation in
the PSI as a declaration of war. That stance made Seoul's former liberal
governments reluctant to fully join the effort, opting instead to follow the
so-called "sunshine policy" of engaging the communist neighbor.
South Korea's previous administrations also worried about the possibility of
armed conflict if any attempt were made to interdict a North Korean vessel, and
limited their participation in the PSI to observing offshore drills.
The current Lee government faced a similar dilemma. It had planned to declare
participation in the PSI shortly after the North's rocket launch in April, but
calls for a more cautious approach grew as the Kaesong industrial zone appeared
to be in peril. A South Korean worker there continues to be detained by North
Korea on allegations he criticized its political system and urged a North Korean
woman to defect. Amid such developments, Seoul delayed a formal announcement on
the PSI several times.
The North's nuclear test put an end to the dilemma.
"As North Korea has conducted a more powerful nuclear test than the previous one
and fired missiles, there is no reason to waste time any longer," said Lee
Dong-kwan, spokesman for the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae.
Many experts here expressed understanding on the decision, saying it was
triggered by North Korea's provocative steps.
"I think participation in the PSI, albeit late, has become an inevitable choice
due to North Korea's nuclear test," Korea University professor Yoo Ho-yeol said.
Dongguk University professor Koh Yu-hwan agreed. "North Korea provided South
Korea with the reason for doing so," he said. "It is seen as reflecting the South
Korean government's will to focus on counter-proliferation efforts along with the
international community, braving the worsening of inter-Korean relations for the
time being at a time when tensions have escalated following North Korea's nuclear
test," he added.
Koh dismissed concerns over an armed clash between the two Koreas due to Seoul's
activity for the PSI. "It is likely to play a largely symbolic role around the
Korean Peninsula," he said.
Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, was
more skeptical.
"South Korea's tit-for-tat action is expected to increase tensions on the Korean
Peninsula, not to mention entirely cut off inter-Korean relations," he said.
He said the North may try armed conflict in the West Sea or test-fire an
intercontinental ballistic missile at an early date in response.
lcd@yna.co.kr
(END)
