ID :
19468
Sun, 09/14/2008 - 08:30
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/19468
The shortlink copeid
S. Korea to observe anti-proliferation drills
By Lee Chi-dong
SEOUL, Sept. 14 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will participate in the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) interdiction training exercise to be held in New Zealand this week as an observer, officials said Sunday.
South Korea's role in the PSI is a sensitive geopolitical issue, because North Korea is a prime target of the U.S.-led campaign aimed at tackling the spread of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and related delivery equipment.
North Korea has criticized the PSI, calling it a product of Washington's hostile policy against
Pyongyang.
"As in previous years, the government will join this year's exercise as an
observer," a Foreign Ministry official said, asking not to be named.
Lee Baek-soon, deputy director-general of the ministry's North American Affairs
Bureau, is to lead an inter-agency delegation to the drills to take place off the
coast of Auckland from Monday to Friday, he added.
The U.S. launched the PSI in 2003 to bolster international cooperation in efforts
to stop the spread of WMDs through the monitoring and interdiction of suspicious
vessels. It has more than 90 member states.
South Korea has taken part in the PSI as an observer, apparently in a bid to
avoid antagonizing its communist neighbor. The U.S. has called for South Korea to
expand its role in the program.
The Lee Myung-bak administration's stance on the matter has drawn keen attention.
Since his inauguration in February, the conservative president has openly sought
closer ties between Seoul and Washington and also taken a tougher line towards
Pyongyang than that of his two liberal predecessors.
But the Lee government remains cautious about the PSI issue.
"Nothing has been decided yet on our future role in the PSI," the
official said. "We are still reviewing the issue."
lcd@yna.co.kr
SEOUL, Sept. 14 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will participate in the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) interdiction training exercise to be held in New Zealand this week as an observer, officials said Sunday.
South Korea's role in the PSI is a sensitive geopolitical issue, because North Korea is a prime target of the U.S.-led campaign aimed at tackling the spread of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and related delivery equipment.
North Korea has criticized the PSI, calling it a product of Washington's hostile policy against
Pyongyang.
"As in previous years, the government will join this year's exercise as an
observer," a Foreign Ministry official said, asking not to be named.
Lee Baek-soon, deputy director-general of the ministry's North American Affairs
Bureau, is to lead an inter-agency delegation to the drills to take place off the
coast of Auckland from Monday to Friday, he added.
The U.S. launched the PSI in 2003 to bolster international cooperation in efforts
to stop the spread of WMDs through the monitoring and interdiction of suspicious
vessels. It has more than 90 member states.
South Korea has taken part in the PSI as an observer, apparently in a bid to
avoid antagonizing its communist neighbor. The U.S. has called for South Korea to
expand its role in the program.
The Lee Myung-bak administration's stance on the matter has drawn keen attention.
Since his inauguration in February, the conservative president has openly sought
closer ties between Seoul and Washington and also taken a tougher line towards
Pyongyang than that of his two liberal predecessors.
But the Lee government remains cautious about the PSI issue.
"Nothing has been decided yet on our future role in the PSI," the
official said. "We are still reviewing the issue."
lcd@yna.co.kr
