A Jailed Unification Activist on the PSI

Below is the excerpt and unofficial translation from the six page writing by one of the jailed activists, the PKAR,. The writing was done before one's arrest on May 7 and there could be changes.


1. What is the PSI (Proliferation Security Initiative)?

PSI was first suggested by the President Bush on May, 2003, officialized at the first meeting in June, 2003.

: Lying on the series of so called “war on terror”, in ‘deterring the weapons of mass destruction”, the PSI brings forward the ‘interception’ as an important method, containing the aggressive military activities, when ‘the suspicion of moving is lodged’. It has the character of ‘preemptive’ to ‘intercept the dangers in advance’.


#The purpose and Role of the PSI:

“ … interdicts the trade of the illegal weapons and related missile technologies”, and for it, search the airplanes and ships suspected to load the those materials”(May 31, 2003, President Bush)

_Role of the PSI: The information exchange and training is the basic. And it does not stop at executing the interdiction of the ships, airplanes, & vehicles (June 2003, Spain, 1st meeting) . Further it prohibits the serving for the trades of the related materials by the “ facilitators of the weapons of mass destruction’, including individuals, companies and groups ( March 2004, Portugal, 5th meeting)


#Position

* PSI is neither the international treaty nor the permantive institute but the ‘Association based on the participating will’.
* The nations with the participating will’ can only sign to the activity rules agreed with at the 3rd meeting or cooperation.


#Current situation

* Currently, the participating nations are total 94. However, China, Pakistan, India, Indonesia are not participating.

In the beginning, the nations who signed at the ‘activity rules’ (U.S.A., UK, France, Germany, Australia, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Canada, Philippines, Russia) and the nations of the cooperation were separated. But since August, 2005, the separation was abolished and all the nations were called as the participating nations.

* There have been 36 times of the multinational joint military training of the PSI, in which the military interception was the basic content.

[..]



6. How the PSI affect the Korean peninsula?

# The PSI is only the opinionated agreement body violating the international law and is problematic in the sense that it brings forward the serious military interception that the international law prohibits.

# Last December 29, 2005, the South Korea decided the limited participation in the PSI. At the time, it decided to participate in the five cooperation clauses among the total eight clauses the USA requested. They are: 1. Including the interception training of the WMD in the US-SK joint military training, 2. Auditing the briefings on the whole activities of the PSI, 3. Visiting and observing the regional interception trainings, 4. Visiting and observing the interception trainings beyond the regional. The three clauses of, 1. Official participation in the PSI, 2. Material support in the regional interception trainings 3. . Material support in the interception trainings beyond the regional, were decided not to participate.

# The SK’s whole participation [after the satellite launch by the NK on April 25] means it makes possible the realization of the military interception in the water area of the Korean peninsula. The Bush administration was not only considering the ways of intercepting ships in the open sea but in the very outside of the seas of the North Korea ( It is on the premise that the South Korea and Japan participate in the PSI) . This measure is, in fact, the declaration of war by the international law, and the trial of the sea blockade strictly prohibited by the Korean war armistice agreement.

# It is nothing but the provocation of the entire war that the SK does the military interception and sea blockade [of the NK ships] as the inter-Korean relationship between the NK and SK has been aggravated.

# The North Korea has already said in 2003 that ‘ in case’ of ‘ blockade of sea and air’, it “ would consider it as the armistice agreement was violated and would immediately retaliate powerfully and mercilessly upon the intrusion of its sovereignty ( NK representative speech at the Panmunjeom representative committee, July 1, 2003). The NK has also recently said of the SK’s participation in the PSI meant “ It is the very declaration of war against us, and we announce that we would immediately have the resolute counter measure against it”.


* When the United States has frozen the bank account of the North Korea , in the Banco Delta Asia(BDA), Macao, 2005, the official cause was the counterfeit money issue but it has become known that its real cause was to follow the PSI initiative in which it blocks the fund resource of the rogue states.


* The ‘Kangnam NO. 1’ , the first NK ship that was pointed out as the first ship against the PSI has proven to be an empty cargo ship.

* The US has voluntarily returned back the frozen NK fund to the NK via the Federal central bank, according to the result of the US-NK dialogue that was in full-swing after the NK nuclear test in last 2006. To speak, the US settled the issue by the government guaranteeing the fund that had been claimed as the illegal fund by herself. This shows the application and dissolution of the PSI is according to the political judgement of the USA.


* Related Korean article
http://tongil-i.net/2006/bbs/bbs/tb.php/data3/361
made by the PKAR, Kyungin Branch, April 15, 2009