[Editorial] The GNP’s dangerous PSI drive

In the wake of North Korea’s nuclear test, the opposition party is calling for the government to participate fully in the U.S.-led Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI). The reason the Grand National Party wants Korea to participate is simple: it wants to teach Pyongyang a lesson, which is also why it wants to call off the Mt. Geumgang (Kumkang) tourism project and the joint Korean Gaeseong (Kaesong) Industrial Complex.

That kind of thinking is unrealistic, very irresponsible, and dangerous. You wonder whether the Grand Nationals have any idea of the dangerous consequences that would come with South Korea fully joining the PSI, something the U.S. has been pursuing since 2003. If we fully participate in a program in which ships suspected of transporting material related to weapons of mass destruction (WMD) are searched on the high seas, that means we have to formally dispatch our warships and military personnel. It would essentially amount to a sea blockade, a scene imaginable only in war.

There is absolutely no reason to expect North Korea to submit to such searches. If North Korean naval vessels are sent to escort Northern cargo ships, a situation could unfold in which there is a direct clash between the North and South Korean navies. Such a clash could lead to provocation along the DMZ. The North has already declared that boarding its ships would amount to a violation of the armistice agreement. Put simply, participation in the PSI would be like the detonator to a powder keg.

It is for this reason that many experts have taken the view that South Korea needs to be extremely careful about participating in the PSI, since we are still officially in a state of confrontation with North Korea, unlike the U.S. and Japan. The same should be said about the government’s current low level of participation, which entails getting regular briefings and observing training operations. Even if you consider how the situation has changed because of the nuclear test, merely bringing up the subject of deeper participation could be dangerous. It is right for the government and the ruling party to be against further participation.

There are times when hard-line voices from the opposition sound the clearest. But when it comes to issues related to national security, it is essential that decisions and assertions be cool-headed and realistic. Chung Hyung-keun, surely one of the most conservative members of the GNP, said, "participation in the PSI must be done carefully, so as not to upset North Korea." His party’s leadership should listen to his advice.