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S Korea 'spurns ship search plan' | S Korea 'spurns ship search plan' |
(40 minutes later) | |
South Korea will not join a US-led scheme to stop and search suspicious North Korean ships, officials say. | |
Seoul has been under increased pressure to join the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) since North Korea conducted a nuclear test on 9 October. | Seoul has been under increased pressure to join the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) since North Korea conducted a nuclear test on 9 October. |
Officials said South Korea did not want to antagonise the North as it had moved to rejoin six-party nuclear talks. | |
The announcement came as nations finalise reports to the UN on imposing sanctions against North Korea. | |
South Korea's Deputy Foreign Minister Park In-kook told reporters that South Korea supported the "purpose and principles" of the PSI. | |
But he said South Korea would not be formally joining it "in consideration of special circumstances on the Korean peninsula". | |
South Korean officials are believed to be worried that intercepting a North Korean ship could trigger an armed clash, which is of particular concern since the two countries remain technically at war. | |
Humanitarian aid | |
Mr Park said South Korea's decision could change depending on the progress on the six-nation talks, which are due to restart within the coming weeks. | |
At the same news conference, Lee Kwan-se, a Unification Ministry official, said South Korea would continue with the measures it introduced even before the October test - including the suspension of humanitarian aid to the North. | |
South Korea is one of several countries due to submit their report to the UN on Monday, outlining how they will implement the sanctions, which call for an arms embargo, a travel ban for senior officials and a ban on the shipment of luxury goods. | |
The PSI is a voluntary initiative that was launched in 2003 as a way of stopping the spread of weapons of mass destruction by stopping suspicious cargo ships at sea. |