South Korea favors short-range missiles

South Korea favors short-range missiles

South Korea said it favors a joint U.S-Korean missile defense system rather than the United States-led plan involving the purchase of longer range missiles. South Korea's anti-missile system, under the Korea Air Missile Defense program, is designed to protect the south from short-range missiles fired by North Korea while the U.S. system uses missiles to protect against medium- and long-range ballistic missile threats.
"South Korea and the U.S. will discuss intelligence sharing and operation of means regarding the missile defense system so as to protect the Korean Peninsula from the threats of North Korean nuclear weapons and its weapons of mass destruction at the Extended Deterrence Policy Committee," the ministry said in a statement.
"This does not mean that we will join the U.S. missile defense system. This means we will strengthen cooperation with the U.S. Forces Korea in the sharing of intelligence and operation of available assets to effectively respond to threats from North Korean ballistic missiles."
North Korea has short-range Scud and Rodong missiles with a range of around 850 miles and is thought to be developing longer-range Taepodong missiles that could reach the United States. The Taepodong-2, which on paper has the ability to reach the nearest Alaskan shore, was test-launched in 2006 but blew up after a flight of less than a minute.
Seoul has been careful about choosing its missile defense options for fear of antagonizing China, a staunch ally of North Korea. Any decision to acquire longer range missiles that also could reach Chinese cities might seriously ramp up military tensions in the region.