| Submit your comments on this article |
| China-Japan-Koreas |
| U.S. not to allow enhanced missile capability for S. Korea |
| 2009-07-15 |
| WASHINGTON, July 14 (Yonhap) -- The United States has no immediate plans to allow South Korea longer-range missiles to counter North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities, the commander of U.S. troops in South Korea said Tuesday. The remarks by Gen. Walter Sharp come amid reports that South Korea will soon call on the U.S. to begin talks on improving South Korea's missile capability, which is constrained to 300 kilometers in range and 500 kilograms in payload under a 2001 agreement. Until 2001, South Korea was limited to 180 kilometers in missile range under an agreement with the U.S., which feared an arms race between the Cold War archrivals on the Korean Peninsula. "You'll need to direct that towards the State Department and, you know, again, there's been no request to do that and I really don't see a need for that right now," Sharp said in a video-linked news conference from New York. He was responding to the question if the issue will be discussed at an upcoming Security Consultative Meeting between defense ministers of the sides in October. Sharp also said that the U.S. military computer system has not been damaged by the recent cyberattacks against scores of government Web sites in South Korea and the U.S. "We in the Department of Defense, our operations have not been affected by the cyberattacks," Sharp said. "Our networks, within our ability to be able to operate from a military perspective, have been protected and were not affected by those. We are on the U.S. military side working very hard to make sure that we have the proper defenses in place across all of our networks to be able to stop any sort of the viruses or any sort of the attacks, and we work on that on a daily basis." |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #4 South Korea To Launch First Homegrown Satellite Programmed to block/override norks "Fixed" radio and TV signals (I hope) |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2009-07-15 14:29 |
| #3 The South Koreans don't lack for range if they want it. South Korea To Launch First Homegrown Satellite South Korea plans to send its own satellite into orbit before the end of this month, space officials announced on Tuesday. "It will mark the first time that South Korea will launch a satellite from its own territory, using its own launch vehicle," Park Jeong-Joo, director of the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, told reporters on Tuesday. Park said the launch vehicle, which was developed for $388 million with Russian officials, would carry the 220-pound satellite into low earth orbit on July 20. The craft will liftoff from the Naro Space Center in Gohueng. |
| Posted by: ed 2009-07-15 10:19 |
| #2 Last I knew, South Korea was a sovereign nation, able to rescind any missile agreements with the US if it should so decide. US dosn't have jurisdiction to 'allow' or not allow longer range missiles. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2009-07-15 07:49 |
| #1 Maybe I missed it, but I don't see any reference to the US declining to "allow" SK longer range missiles. From the article, it seems he said no request had been made, and that the request would have to be made through the State Dept. He also said 'he' didn't see a need for that 'right now', which to me doesn't add up to the headline. Not allowing and not yet having been asked are different. |
| Posted by: Whiskey Mike 2009-07-15 04:58 |