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| U.S. Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs Bonnie Jenkins reads a message on behalf of U.S. President Joe Biden during a high-level meeting of the Proliferation Security Initiative, aimed at stopping trafficking of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery, at a hotel in the city of Seogwipo on Korea's largest island of Jeju, May 30. Yonhap |
A group of countries endorsing the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) on Tuesday reaffirmed their commitment to interdict the illicit transfer of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and related materials.
The agreement was reached at a high-level forum on the 20th anniversary of the PSI on Korea's southern resort island of Jeju with delegates from 70 PSI-endorsing and observer countries, including the United States, Japan and Australia, joining the event.
In a joint statement, the participating countries agreed to further commit to improving PSI capacity-building activities and training, as well as addressing the challenges posed by the emerging technologies and proliferation practices amid the "changing security environment."
The new areas of concern include proliferation finance involving cryptocurrency, intangible technology transfers and the increasing sophistication of proliferators' tactics to circumvent international law, they added.
The PSI members also noted that emerging technologies, such as 3D printing, artificial intelligence and quantum computing, can create additional nonproliferation and counter-proliferation challenges.
Stressing the need for "increased cooperation" in countering evolving threats posed by the development of nuclear and ballistic missile programs, the delegates decided to work on an "action plan" for the implementation of the joint statement. (Yonhap)
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