NORTH KOREA NEWSLETTER NO. 56 (May 28, 2009)

N. Korea Threatens Military Response After S. Korea Joins PSI

SEOUL (Yonhap) -- In an announcement that reinforced the concerns of many North
Korea observers here, the socialist country said on May 27 it was nullifying an
armistice agreement and threatened military action following South Korea's full
entry into the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI).

North Korea unilaterally declared void the agreement that effectively ended the
Korean War and warned of an immediate military strike should South Korea attempt
to interdict any of its ships, blasting Seoul's participation in the U.S.-led
security campaign as a "declaration of war."
The statement, issued by spokesman for the North's permanent military mission to
the Panmunjom joint security area, also said the country can no longer guarantee
the safety of South Korean and U.S. military ships and private vessels moving
along the western sea border.
"As declared to the world, our revolutionary forces will consider the full
participation in the PSI by the Lee Myung-bak group of traitors as a declaration
of war against us," the North Korean military mission said, referring to the
South Korean president, in the statement carried by the North's official Korean
Central News Agency (KCNA).
Just hours later, North Korea reinforced the threat made by the country's
military against South Korea. The North's Committee for the Peaceful
Reunification of the Fatherland, a body that handles inter-Korean affairs,
accused Seoul of "declaring war" by announcing its participation in the PSI.
Pyongyang "will take such practical counter-measures as in wartime now that the
South Korean authorities have declared a war in wanton violation of its dignity
and sovereignty by fully participating in the PSI," said the statement carried by
the KCNA.
"The DPRK will deal a decisive and merciless retaliatory blow, no matter from
which place, at any attempt to stop, check and inspect its vessels, regarding it
as a violation of its inviolable sovereignty and territory and a grave
provocation to it," the statement said.
In response, South Korea said on the same day it will respond "sternly" to any
North Korean provocation along their western sea border, where the socialist
country no longer guarantees the safety of foreign vessels. "Should North Korea
provoke, we will counteract sternly," the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a
statement.
South Korea on May 26 declared full participation in the PSI aimed at curbing the
spread of the weapons of mass destruction and related materials, reacting sternly
to the North's nuclear test a day earlier.
"The government has decided to endorse the PSI Statement of Interdiction
Principles to counter serious threats posed by the spread of weapons of mass
destruction and missiles," foreign ministry spokesman Moon Tae-young said in a
statement.
Seoul government informed the U.S., China, Russia, Japan, and other major
countries of its plan to join the PSI before the announcement, according to
ministry officials.
"We will send a formal letter notifying that we accept all PSI principles,
especially the interdiction principle, to the U.S. State Department later today
to complete the process of joining the PSI," an official told reporters in a
background briefing. South Korea will be its 95th member.
The official said South Korea is considering attending a regional meeting of the
PSI's Operational Expert Group, composed of some 20 core member states, to be
held in Poland in June.
South Korea initially made the decision to join the PSI following the North's
April 5 rocket launch. But it had delayed a formal announcement in consideration
of its efforts to resume dialogue with the communist neighbor.
Seoul government officials said there was no reason to wait any longer as North
Korea carried out another nuclear experiment on May 25.
The PSI, launched in 2003, does not directly target any country, but North Korea,
long suspected of exporting illicit weapons and parts, is understood to be a main
target. North Korea has repeatedly warned that the South's participation in the
PSI would be tantamount to a declaration of war.
South Korea's previous liberal administration rejected the U.S. request for Seoul
to take part in the PSI, citing "unique geopolitical situations" on the divided
peninsula. South Korea had limited its role to observing offshore exercises.
But the current conservative administration, which aims to increase South Korea's
role as a global player, said Seoul should play a bigger part in cracking down on
the international black market for weapons and related technology. It has also
put top priority on strengthening its alliance with the U.S. on foreign policy
matters.
"(Participation in the PSI) is a natural obligation for a mature country," Foreign
Minister Yu Myung-hwan said. "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 complex -- has
been shut down since the inauguration of South Korea's conservative Lee Myung-bak
administration early last year.
Some experts in Seoul expressed a measure of agreement with 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.
But 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.
In response to Seoul's most recent move, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs
said in a statement on May 26 (Washington time), "The President welcomes the
Republic of Korea's decision today to join the PSI."
"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," Gibbs said.
(END)