SOUTH KOREA, ASEAN MUST WORK TO ADDRESS SECURITY ISSUES

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 13 (Bernama) -- The emerging global and regional security
challenges require South Korea and Asean countries to seek ways to cooperate,
said a South Korean academician Thursday.

According to Profesor Lee Seo-Hang of South Korea's Institute of Foreign
Affairs and National Security, the security environment in the
world and the East Asia region were undergoing dramatic changes.

"There were new developments in problematic areas and the emergence of
non-traditional security issues such as piracy, pandemic diseases, economic
crisis and natural disasters," he said.

In his assessment of the global and regional security environment, he
outlined the weapons of mass destruction (WMD), arms build-up and the emergence
of non-traditional security issues as some of the challenges which could bring
instability.

He was presenting a paper, 'New Roles, New Responsibilities in Global and
Regional Security' at the Fourth Korea-Asean Cooperation Forum here.

The forum was jointly organised by the Korea Foundation and Malaysia's
Institute of Strategic and International Studies.

On the WMD, Seo-Hang said the security challenges were Iran's continued
expansion of its uranium enrichment operations and refusal to cooperate with the
International Atomic Energy Agency, and also North Korea's two nuclear tests and
refusal to return to the Six-Party talks aimed at finding a peaceful solution to
Pyongyang's nuclear programme issue.

On the arms build-up, he said the build-up in East Asian countries,
particularly naval forces, had been on the rise, adding that this was a key
global security issue of interest.

Among the characteristics of East Asia's naval build-ups were the increase
in the number of submarines, he said, stressing that China's submarine build-up
merited special attention. Another characterictic was the stepped-up efforts to
procure aircraft carriers.

"The region's naval build-ups aggravate the structure of military
confrontation in the sea...so the tension at sea is very much higher in the
region," said Seo-Hang.

Regional countries' naval build-ups were likely to remain a trend for the
foreseeable future and conflicts and clashes among states were also unavoidable
in the near future.

He said in Seoul's new approach, 'Global Korea', the country would not only
cooperate actively, but also offer solutions for dealing with common issues
facing the regional and world community.

-- BERNAMA