S. Korea begins activity as PSI member

By Lee Chi-dong
SEOUL, June 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korea has dispatched a director-level foreign
ministry official to an international meeting of the Proliferation Security
Initiative (PSI), its first official act since becoming a full-fledged member of
the U.S.-led counter-proliferation campaign, officials said Monday.

South Korea announced its participation in the PSI on May 26, a day after North
Korea conducted its second nuclear test, despite warnings from the communist
neighbor that such a move would be seen as an "act of war."
"The government has sent Lee Jang-geun, director of the foreign ministry's
disarmament and nonproliferation department, to the PSI's European Regional
Operational Experts Group meeting in Sopot, Poland, from June 22-24," the
ministry's deputy spokesman Choe Jong-hyun said. Although the forum is for
European members, nonregional members are also invited.
The PSI, launched by former U.S. President George W. Bush in Krakow, Poland, in
May 2003, seeks to prevent the transfer of weapons of mass destruction, their
delivery systems and related materials by air, ground or sea to and from states
and nonstate actors of proliferation concern. It currently consists of 95 member
countries.
North Korea, known for exporting illicit weapons, is among the major targets of
the initiative.
The isolated nation must also contend with U.N.-sponsored sanctions imposed after
its latest nuclear test.
U.N. Security Council Resolution 1874 bans North Korea from trafficking a wide
rage of weapons of mass destruction and conventional weaponry. It "calls upon"
U.N. member states to search North Korean ships if there are "reasonable grounds"
to suspect that they are carrying contraband cargo.
The U.S. navy is currently keeping tabs on a North Korean freighter, the Kang
Nam, which is reportedly heading towards Myanmar after leaving North Korea's
western port in Nampo last Wednesday, according to foreign news reports which
cited unidentified U.S. officials.
South Korean government officials insisted that despite the U.N. resolution, the
PSI remains active as it targets not only North Korea but also other countries
involved in the trade of illegal weapons.
South Korea has yet to decide whether to take part in a major interdiction
exercise to be held in October off the coast of Singapore, they added.
lcd@yna.co.kr
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