South Korea backs down on plans to start whaling
The Australian press is reporting that South Korea is backing down on its threats to resume commercial whaling through the loophole of so-called ‘scientific whaling’.
The Sydney Morning Herald, and the Australian are both reporting that due to pressure both internally from its own media and NGOs and after strong protests from Australia, the US and other nations South Korea has indicated that it was abandoning plans
‘Foreign Minister Bob Carr said his South Korean counterpart Kim Sung-hwan had told him during talks at the East Asia summit in Cambodia today of the decision.
No reasons were given for the about-face, but it’s believed South Korea may have been surprised at the strength of the opposition from its main security guarantor the US and a key trading and defence partner in Australia.
WDCS congratulates the NGOs of the ROK and those governments who came out strongly against the position of the ROK’s fishery department.
WDCS believes that South Korea must now address the illegal whaling, both by harpoon and net whaling that afflicts its coastline around Ulsan.
