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China-Japan-Koreas
U.S. Wants to Maintain Limits on ROK Missiles
2011-12-05
Washington opposes the revision of guidelines that restrict South Korea's missile range to less than 300 km. Officials from the two countries discussed the issue at the Defense Ministry on Thursday but failed to narrow their differences. They agreed to meet again early next year.

A diplomatic source in Seoul said although South Korea has been seeking to extend the missile range through various channels including the Defense Ministry since earlier this year, "no progress has been made yet."

The guidelines were last revised in 2001, extending the range from 180 km to 300 km and increasing the payload capacity to 500 kg. But Seoul argues North Korean missiles have a much longer range and the restrictions now present a security risk.

In negotiations with Washington, Seoul called for a range of over 1,000 km to cover all of North Korea, which is developing intercontinental ballistic missiles as well as short and medium-range missiles.

The North had already developed a Scud missile capable of striking all of South Korea in the 1980s. In 1998, 2006, and 2009 it tested missiles whose range is now believed to be longer than 4,000 km. South Korea believes it must extend its own missile range in time for the handover of full operational control of the South Korean armed forces from the U.S. in 2015.

But government officials say that the U.S. administration opposes extending the range because Seoul joined the Missile Technology Control Regime in 2001, which focuses on preventing proliferation of rockets with warheads of over 500 kg or a range longer than 300 km. Washington is reportedly worried that extending the range would provoke North Korea and weigh on its relations with China.

"The U.S. is worried because extending the range to 1,000 km would bring Beijing within reach as well," a government official said. "There's a rough road ahead before the guidelines are revised."
Remember the SS-20? That was an intermediate range missile the Soviets aimed at Europe in the late 1970s. Remember the Pershing missile? That was the missile the U.S. developed in response. Based in Europe, it could hit Moscow in about fifteen minutes.

And oh, did the Soviets ever hate it. They mounted a huge propaganda campaign to stop us from deploying it. President Carter caved, but President Reagan reversed that decision and ordered the Pershing deployed in the early 1980s. He also offered to stop the deployment if the Soviets dismantled the now-deployed SS-20s.

The Soviets did.

So now we have North Korea, and by extension China, with missiles aimed at the South. I'm thinking the ROK should go ahead and build a new generation of long-range missiles that could hit Beijing, with an offer to cancel deployment if the Chinese curb their dog.

I think I know what will happen.
Posted by:Steve White

#14  Sorry, last post is mine - local sys is suffering = being affected by power fluxes.
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2011-12-05 23:28  

#13  ION TOPIX > AUSTRALIA TOLD TO REPAIR RELATIONS WID PACIFIC STATES.

AUS image + influence is in decline vee Rising China + not even close ties wid the US may be enuff to counter China's better or more positive image wid regional states.

* WORLD MIL FORUM > RIGHT-WING JAPAN POLITICIAN ISHIHARA: JAPAN MUST STOP BEING A BULLIED [abused], POST-SURRENDER "STUPID MISTRESS/
CONCUBINE" OF THE USA.

IIUC, this is Ishihara's roundabout, albeit critical, way of demanding that Japan dev indigenous NucWeaps in order to return to being a competitive Great Power???

versus

* BHARAT RAKSHAK > INDIA NEEDS A [indigenous]HOME-BUILT NAVY.

Its good for the domestic economy, e.g. expansion of Govt., Private Shipyards + employment therein.
Posted by: Angash Peacock6557   2011-12-05 23:27  

#12  They'll probably just build cruise missiles instead.

They already build 1000 mile range cruise missiles.
Posted by: Eohippus Phater7165   2011-12-05 20:39  

#11  We have no business telling our allies how they can and can't defend themselves. Build what they want. Call them sounding rockets or satellite launchers. America's first Marxist administration won't be in office much longer anyway.
Posted by: Eohippus Phater7165   2011-12-05 20:36  

#10  AH, but how far will it cruise?
Posted by: Redneck Jim   2011-12-05 20:06  

#9  They'll probably just build cruise missiles instead.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain   2011-12-05 16:42  

#8  Or let everybody know about it.
The best weapon is the one you never have to use.
Posted by: Jesh Ghibelline3242   2011-12-05 15:48  

#7  I can think of one easy solution.

Build a new missile that honors the current restriction but is state of the art in every other way. The kind of missile that can hit the eye of Lincoln head penny in the main square of Pyongyang.

AND, build a second stage for it that can be strapped on in about five minutes that lets it hit that same penny in the main square of Beijing.

And don't tell anyone about the second stage.
Posted by: Steve White   2011-12-05 15:18  

#6  ROK should develop them. It is their country and they need to worry about their own security since they can stand up to NOK on their own.
Posted by: DarthVader   2011-12-05 13:20  

#5  Ditto Japan, India, etc...
Posted by: CrazyFool   2011-12-05 11:17  

#4  Prior to the Nork invasion of the South, the ROK was denied heavy weapons [artillery, armor] it requested from the American cadre/diplomats even though we literally had tons of the stuff left over from WWII. The American intent was for the ROK military to be a constabulary force and saw no need to provide the ROK military the necessary equipment as growing world tensions [like the Berlin Crisis] already had sent warnings of what was to come.

It's time that ROK look after its own interests and not that of the fools in Washington.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2011-12-05 08:57  

#3  Why?
Posted by: imoyaro   2011-12-05 02:17  

#2  ION NOT-DPRK NEWS, INDIAN DEFENCE FORUM > INDIA MONITORS [anchored]IRAN SHIP CARRYING ARMED MEN.

[1960's = 1980's =1990's, post-911 GUAM TAOTAMONAS here].

* SAME > INDIA SEEKS TO PREVENT NAVAL SKIRMISHES WID CHINA ON HIGH SEAS, espec in IOR = Indian Ocean Region.

versus

* CHINA DAILY FORUM > EAST TURKESTAN SEPARATISTS TAKING REFUGE IN INDIA: WU MONJIE [Chin Mil Xpert], whom also claims that India's military strength at the Tibet borders is now greater than China's.

Posted by: JosephMendiola   2011-12-05 00:45  

#1  China sees both the US + Russia as potential nuclear adversaries, sole or in joint, thus it believes it needs a nuclear arsenal large enough to deter + fight both.

Ditto Russia vee the US + China, espec historic Asia rival = nemesis China, but Russia feels tech-backward/inferior China can be effectively handled by Russian conventional forces, + so saves its nukes mostly for agz the US. CHINA'S ON-GOING MIL MODERNIZATION IS PRESEN MAKING MOSCOW ALL TWITCHY.

China now has NUCLEARIZING RADICAL ISLAM [MilTerrs = Jihadis] + also a possible post-2018 NUCLEAR-ARMED JAPAN to worry about.
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2011-12-05 00:27  

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