(LEAD) S. Korea joins PSI after N. Korea's nuke test

(ATTN: UPDATES with foreign ministry statement, other details)
By Lee Chi-dong
SEOUL, May 26 (Yonhap) -- South Korea, angered by North Korea's second nuclear
test, announced Tuesday that it will fully participate in a U.S.-led
nonproliferation campaign.

South Korea made the decision to join the Proliferation Security Initiative (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. Government officials said there was no reason to wait any
longer as North Korea carried out another nuclear experiment on Monday.
"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.
But an inter-Korean maritime agreement signed in 2005 will remain valid, he added.
The PSI is aimed at stopping the trafficking of weapons of mass destruction.
South Korea will be its 95th member.
The initiative, 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, the words Seoul uses in referring to its tricky relations with the
North. South Korea has only been an observer to the offshore exercises.
But the current conservative administration, one of whose slogans is "Global
Korea," said Seoul should play a bigger role in cracking down on the
international black market for weapons and related technology.
The government also puts top priority on strengthening its alliance with the U.S.
in its foreign policy.
In an outdoor speech in Prague hours after the North's April 5 rocket launch, U.S.
President Barack Obama expressed his will to bolster the PSI.
lcd@yna.co.kr
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