Yonhap
12/6/2006
South Korea is set to announce its participation in a U.S.-led campaign to stop container-borne radioactive materials after refusing to help interdict North Korean ships suspected of carrying weapons of mass destruction.
A Foreign Ministry official confirmed Wednesday that Seoul decided to join the International Container Scanning Network, or ICSN.
“The government plans to formally announce the decision later this week,” the official said, asking not to be identified.
The ICSN calls for its members to install state-of-the-art radioactivity detectors at their major ports so customs officials can screen the contents of containers without opening them.
International efforts to curb the flow of nuclear materials have gained more urgency since North Korea conducted a nuclear test in October.
Seoul’s decision to join the ICSN was widely interpreted as designed to offset its limited participation in the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI).
South Korea said last month that it would stay away from any PSI-related activity in the vicinity of the Korean Peninsula, citing its unique geopolitical situation. South Korea remains technically at war with the communist North and the two sides are vulnerable to military clashes especially in the poorly-demarcated West Sea.
South Korea described its position in the PSI as “special status,” as it kept the door open for PSI activities in remote areas.
Government officials, however, said the PSI was not considered when it made the decision to join the ICSN, a project still being tested.
