US agrees to longer-range missiles for South Korea
| Seoul
听has reached a landmark agreement with the听听to extend the range of听's ballistic missiles by more than twice the current limit to counter the threat from听, the government said on Sunday.
The move to significantly boost the听South's missile capabilities along with development of advanced aerial reconnaissance vehicles is likely to rattle the communist North, which has remained at odds since the 1950-53 Korean War left the peninsula divided.
It may also stoke concern in听,听听and听, parts of which would be within range of the new missiles.
Under the agreement,听听can develop missiles up to a range of 800 kms (497 mile) from the current ceiling of 300 kms (186 mile),听, top secretary to President Lee Myung-bak for foreign and security affairs, told reporters.
He said the听听and听听also agreed to maintain the maximum payload for a听South听Korean-developed ballistic missile at the current level of 500 kilograms (1,102 lbs).
However, if听听chose to develop a missile with shorter ranges, it could increase the payload accordingly.
听has also been allowed to develop unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, with an unlimited payload weight if the flying distance is within 300 kilometres.
听has for years sought to extend its missile range to deter the North, which it said had developed missiles that could reach every corner of the country. It also wanted to increase the payload for the UAVs and develop not only reconnaissance UAVs but also combat drones.
"The most important goal for our government to revise the missile guidelines is deterring听's military provocations," Chun said.
Currently, all of听听as well as U.S. military installations in听听and听, are within the range of North Korean missile attacks, according to听听data.
In April,听听was condemned by the U.N. Security Council after a failed long-range rocket launch. U.S. allies including听听deemed it a disguised test for the North to upgrade its听despite听's claim that it was aimed to put a satellite into orbit for peaceful purpose.
Washington had sought to discourage听听from developing longer-range ballistic missiles in keeping with a voluntary international arms-control pact known as the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). (Reporting by Sung-won Shim; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)
