South Korea has the technical ability to quickly produce longer-range ballistic missiles, one official said in a Korea Times article published yesterday (see GSN, July 17).
"We have secured enough technologies to develop advanced longer-range missiles at any time,'' said a top researcher at the state-operated Defense Development Agency. "The thing is how the leadership of South Korea and the United States would discuss and resolve the missile range issue in a politically wise manner.''
A 2001 agreement with the United States prohibits South Korea from fielding missiles that can fly farther than 186 miles and carry payloads weighing more than about 1,100 pounds. Seoul, faced with increasingly provocative actions by North Korea, has suggested it would seek allowance to increase the reach of its missiles. The top U.S. and South Korean defense officials are expected to discuss the matter in October.
"The United States fully recognizes the need for Seoul to develop a sufficient independent deterrence capability against threats posed by North Korea's asymmetrical weapons systems,'' Park Chang-kwon, a senior researcher at the stated-backed Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, told the newspaper. "Seoul's improved global status and military technology level could be also key factors that Washington would consider regarding the missile range guidelines.''
The South's Hyunmoo-model missiles could hit the North Korean capital of Pyongyang and launch sites for short- and medium-range missiles, according to the Times. However, the North's long-range missile launch sites would be out of reach.
South Korea would need ballistic missiles with ranges between 341 and 435 miles in order to put the entire territory of its neighbor within hitting distance. Some lawmakers believe the nation needs a ballistic missile with a 620-mile range.
The Defense Development Agency would require just half a year to produce a ballistic missile that could fly 310 miles, and one to two years for a weapon with a range of 620 miles, the researcher said. A cruise missile with a range of 932 miles reportedly has already been produced.
"The long-range cruise missile is a key option to deter a North Korean provocation, but a cruise missile, in general, is vulnerable to being intercepted by the enemy due to its low speed, and it is less powerful than a ballistic missile because of the light payload," according to the agency official (Jung Sung-ki, Korea Times, July 22).