News Analysis: Seoul in Dilemma over US NMD Program

The promise by Seoul to uphold the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (AMB) Treaty in a South Korean-Russian joint statement issued Tuesday is seen as its indirect expression against Washington's National Missile Defense (NMD) program, analysts said.

The statement was issued after a summit between South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and his Russian counterpart Vladmir Putin, who arrived here Monday for a three-day state visit.

In the seven-point joint statement, both Seoul and Moscow agree to preserve and strengthen the AMB Treaty, describing it as "a cornerstone of strategic stability and an important foundation for international efforts on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. "

"The agreement means that Seoul opposes the NMD system plan," said a high-ranking South Korean official.

Although many lawmakers from both South Korean ruling and opposition parties have voiced "no" to the NMD program, the South Korean government has kept silent over the 60-billion-dollar program.

Seoul's silence over the NMD plan came from two concerns.

Firstly, it fears its overt support could undermine the ongoing inter-Korean reconciliation process which started after the historic summit between South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and DPRK leader Kim Jong-il in Pyongyang on June 13-15 last year.

Secondly, it badly needs closer cooperation with Washington to further the inter-Korean reconciliation process, which is a must for replacement of the armistice agreement with a peace mechanism on the Korean peninsula.

However, some South Korean officials said the agreement on the ABM Treaty should not be linked with the NMD issue as it was designed in the statement to cut strategic weapons.

Russia has repeated their strong objection to the US plan to establish the missile defense shield against missile attacks from so-called "rogue states" such as Iran, Iraq and the DPRK, and terrorists as well.

The Bush administration said it would push for the establishment of the missile shield, even at the risk of revising the ABM Treaty banning set-up of large-scale missile defense shields.

President Kim Dae-jung is expected to explain South Korean stance and to secure US understanding over the NMD program when he meets US President George W. Bush in Washington on March 7 this year, analysts said.






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