The Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) and the Korean Peninsula

Overview

The EAI Center for Diplomacy and National Security convenes the National Security Panel (chaired by EAI Director Ha Young-sun), comprising domestic and international experts in diplomacy and national security. The Center publishes the National Security Panel Report Series, which offers in-depth analyses of major diplomatic and security issues and proposes practical policy alternatives.

The title of this 13th NSP report is "The Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) and the Korean Peninsula," and it was primarily authored by Senior Fellow Shin Sung-ho (Graduate School of International Studies, Seoul National University).

This report examines the historical background and specific activities of the PSI, as well as related international debates, in light of the South Korean government's recent announcement of partial participation in the US-led PSI. It also presents the implications and significance for the Korean Peninsula.

The report particularly emphasizes the need for contingency plans should a PSI interdiction of North Korea become unavoidable. It states that the South Korean government's decision for partial PSI participation should be understood within a complex framework of considerations: primarily to more effectively manage potential crises arising from US interdictions against North Korea related to the North Korean nuclear issue; secondly, to pursue the universally shared human value of non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction from a long-term perspective; and thirdly, to manage the alliance relationship with the United States.

"As a responsible member of the international community, our government, based on the fundamental principle of opposing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, should consider principled participation in the PSI, within limits that minimize impact on the North Korean nuclear issue, rather than an unconditional reservation." (Excerpt from the text)

Author

Shin Sung-ho, Professor, Seoul National University