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March 22. (Blue House photo pool)

By Lee Soon-hyuk, staff writer

South Korea is seeking to extend it ballistic missile capabilities to respond to North Korean aggression. In an interview with the Dong-A Ilbo and the Wall Street Journal on Thursday, President Lee Myung-bak said that the government is seeking an amendment to a policy that limits South Korea’s ballistic missiles to payload weight of 500kg and firing range of 300km. 　

Lee is seeking an extension in firing range because the currently held missiles would only reach the North Korean front. North Korea possesses missiles that are capable of reaching the furthest points of South Korean territory, prompting government calls for symmetrical capabilities. North Korea’s recent announcement of plans to launch a rocket booster for the Kwangmyongsong-3 satellite has renewed South Korean calls for the amendment. The South Korean government is hoping the range might be extended to 500km or 800km and the payload weight to 1000kg.

The matter is up for discussion again, as eleven years have passed since the previous amendment in 2001. President Lee added, “we cannot give details at the present time.”

Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said that the extension was a longstanding wish of the South Korean military and that discussions have been under way for the past year or two.

“My impression is that the US Defense Department has been understanding about South Korea‘s requests [for ballistic missile upgrades], but the State Department, which has to uphold the Missile Technology Control Regime, has been fairly stubborn,” said a Defense Ministry official.

The Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) is an international agreement banning the export of ballistic missile technology and parts weighing more than 500kg and with a firing range exceeding 300km.

South Korea began its ballistic missile development in the late 1970s with US assistance. Seoul pledged not to develop or possess any missiles with a firing range of over 180km. In 2001, it extended the range to 300km in exchange for acceptance to the MTCR.

A military official said, “The US is balking out of concerns that other countries in the MTCR might object if it accepts South Korea’s request, and the South Korean government is working to win it over by emphasizing the special nature of our conflict with North Korea.”

North Korea’s announcement of a rocket booster launch adds extra grounds for recognizing South Korea’s “special situation.”

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