South Korea Tuesday joined a US-led drive to curb trade in weapons of mass destruction after North Korea's second nuclear test — a move Pyongyang has said would be tantamount to a declaration of war.
Seoul's full participation in the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) came as the UN Security Council condemned the North's test and began working on a resolution designed to punish the communist state.
The foreign ministry announcement made South Korea a full member of the anti-proliferation initiative. It had previously been only an observer, for fear of offending its neighbour.
Seoul decided in principle to join PSI after the North's April 5 long-range rocket launch, but delayed a formal announcement while trying to resume cross-border dialogue.
After the atomic test, which sparked international anger, it waited no longer.
"Our participation in the PSI is necessary in light of the very grave situation that North Korea has conducted a nuclear test," Foreign Minister Yu Myung-Hwan told parliament.
A ministry spokesman said inter-Korean agreements on the safe passage of cargo ships through each other's waters remains valid.
The initiative, which includes military drills aimed at stopping and searching ships and aircraft, was launched by then-US President George W. Bush in 2003 and now involves more than 90 countries.
North Korea has been an active exporter of missiles in recent years.
In addition to its underground nuclear test the North Monday fired three short-range ground-to-air missiles off its east coast, Seoul's military said.
Yonhap news agency said two more were fired Tuesday.
South Korea's top military commanders held an emergency meeting Tuesday as part of heightened vigilance against the North's "militarily provocative acts," a spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
President Lee Myung-Bak and US President Barack Obama, in a telephone conversation, agreed to press for a strong UN resolution against the North.
They had decided to "work closely together to seek and support a strong United Nations Security Council resolution with concrete measures to curtail North Korea's nuclear and missile activities," a White House statement said.
"The two presidents agreed that the test was a reckless violation of international law that compels action in response."
Obama also thanked Lee for the decision to join the PSI, it said.
South Korean Defence Minister Lee Sang-Hee left for China for talks with his counterpart at which the nuclear test was likely to be high on the agenda. He originally cancelled the trip in the aftermath of the test but changed his mind.
Seoul said it expects to formally verify the nuclear test, North Korea's second since 2006, within days by analysing air samples for radioactive material.
The Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety said sampling equipment was operational at 70 different places as well as on a ship and an aircraft off the Korean peninsula.
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