While seeking tougher international response to Pyongyang's nuclear test, the Obama administration on Tuesday voiced its welcome to South Korea's joining a U.S.-led nonproliferation campaign, XInhua reported.
The United States looks forward to working with the South Korean government to advance the nonproliferation goals of the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) and its Statement of Interdiction Principles, said the State Department in a statement.
The South Korean government announced on Tuesday that it will fully participate in the U.S.-led PSI, so as to counter serious threats posed by the spread of weapons of mass destruction and missiles.
The announcement was made one day after the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) conducted its second nuclear test, while the decision to join the PSI had been made following the DPRK's April 5 rocket launch.
The United States believes there should be the broadest possible participation in the PSI by all responsible states, to further strengthen international cooperation against trafficking in weapons of mass destruction, their delivery systems, and related materials, said the State Department.
The PSI, launched in June 2003, is aimed at stopping the trafficking of weapons of mass destruction. South Korea will be its 95th member. The DPRK has repeatedly warned that the South's participation in the PSI would be equivalent to a declaration of war.
The DPRK fired at least two short-range missiles on Tuesday, a day after it "successfully conducted one more underground nuclear test," which was said demonstrating "self-defensive nuclear deterrent."
Late on Monday, the 15-member UN Security Council unanimously condemned the nuclear test, vowing to prepare a strong response to Pyongyang.
The Obama administration has been trying to convince the Security Council to "craft a strong, unequivocal and unified response to North Korea's grave violation of international law," said State Department spokesman Ian Kelly.
The international community should convey a strong message to Pyongyang that it will "pay a price for the path they are on if they don't reverse that particular course they are on now," Kelly said.
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