SEOUL, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- A majority of lawmakers from South Korea's ruling party oppose joining a U.S.-led nonproliferation initiative, fearing an armed conflict with the North.
The opposition expressed Friday by 77 of the 140 ruling party members in South Korea's National Assembly comes in the wake of North Korea's recent claims about a nuclear test, the Yonhap news agency reported.
The issue relates to the Proliferation Security Initiative, a voluntary group of more than 70 countries which work against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
The PSI, introduced in 2003, calls for the interdiction of vessels and airliners suspected of carrying WMD or related materials, the report said.
South Korea so far has shown reluctance to participate because of North-South tensions, which now assume greater significance because of North's apparently successful nuclear test. But for the same reason, the South is coming under growing pressure to change its role in the PSI from an observer to a formal participant, says the report.
A foreign ministry official told Yonhap, "South Korea will have to expand its role in the PSI under the new situation. We will decide what role we can play in the PSI after reviewing the U.N. resolution."
