U.S. welcomes S. Korea`s full membership in PSI: White House

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By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, May 26 (Yonhap) -- The United States Tuesday welcomed South Korea's
full-scale participation in the international consortium against the
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, which aims mainly at North Korea
and Iran.
"The President welcomes the Republic of Korea's decision today to join the
Proliferation Security Initiative," White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said
in a statement. "By endorsing the PSI Statement of Interdiction Principles, the
ROK has joined 94 other countries in a global effort to prevent the spread of
weapons of mass destruction, their delivery systems, and related materials to and
from states and non-state actors of proliferation concern."
ROK stands for South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea.
"We look forward to working with the South Korean Government to stop the
proliferation of WMD-related materials worldwide and to strengthening the
Initiative for the future," Gibbs said.
The statement is the second of its kind in as many days.
In a statement released Monday to explain the outcome of U.S. President Barack
Obama's phone call with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, the White House
said Obama "expressed his appreciation to President Lee for the decision by the
Republic of Korea to join the Proliferation Security Initiative."
South Korea announced Tuesday that it will fully join the U.S.-led initiative
aimed at intercepting vessels and airplanes suspected of trading weapons of mass
destruction. Although not specifically named in the PSI, the initiative is widely
believed to target North Korea and Iran.
The announcement came one day after North Korea's second nuclear test.
South Korea had been reluctant to become a full member of the PSI so as not to
provoke North Korea, which says Seoul's participation would be seen as tantamount
to a declaration of war.
Earlier in the day, State Department spokesman Ian Kelly also told a daily news
briefing, "The U.S. welcomes their participation in the PSI, and we look forward
to working with the Seoul government to advance the nonproliferation goals of the
PSI and its Statement of Interdiction Principles."
"In terms of what PSI is, it's a global cooperative effort that aims at stopping
trafficking of weapons of mass destruction, their delivery systems and related
materials to and from states and non-state actors of proliferation concern," he
said.
hdh@yna.co.kr
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