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S Korea Refuses to Join Stop & Search of N Korean ships for WMD
THE South Korean Government has defied American pressure and refused to join a stop-and-search campaign against North Korean weapons of mass destruction proliferation. It is the second rebuff from Roh Moo-hyun's administration to US efforts to organise purposeful sanctions in retaliation for Pyongyang's October 9 nuclear bomb test and again exposes disagreement among the frontline states about how to deal with the rogue regime. A meeting of senior government officials convened at the weekend by Prime Minister Han Myung-sook decided the Seoul administration would not participate in the US-led Proliferation Security Initiative. The US and allies such as Australia and Japan regard the PSI as a primary tool of international sanctions against North Korean nuclear and missile proliferation authorised by UN Security Council Resolution 1718. However, South Korea and China question the legality of PSI activities and the North Koreans have warned they will treat an attempt to interdict one of its vessels as an act of war. Resolution 1718 calls for "inspection of cargo to and from" North Korea but does not specify how, or under what authority, that should be done. South Korea is officially an observer-member of the PSI, launched in 2003, but conspicuously does not participate in its activities for fear of antagonising the North Korean regime. The Roh administration's refusal to make a meaningful contribution to the PSI -- following its rejection of US demands to withdraw from two "inter-Korean" development projects, Kaesong industrial park and the Mt Kumgang resort -- will deepen alienation between the White House and the Blue House. The South Koreans believe the Bush administration pays insufficient regard to the economic and humanitarian costs -- and the risk of military attack on Seoul -- if the Kim regime starts to collapse under external pressure. America will be further antagonised by comments attributed to South Korean officials expressing hope that the removal of hardline US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and the hammering the Republicans took in last week's congressional elections will oblige the White House to take a more accommodating stance on North Korea. US officials are also unhappy about Blue House security adviser Song Min-soon becoming Foreign Minister this week to replace Ban Ki-moon, who finished work on Friday before assuming his new post as UN Secretary-General. Mr Song, who was a participant in the weekend's decision-making, is one of the drivers of engagement and an outspoken critic of US foreign policy. Posted by: trailing wife 2006-11-13 |
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