Text Fwd: Expanded Ballistic Missile Range: S. Korea Presidential Aide Visits U.S.

* Text fwd by Rick Rozoff on Feb. 22, 2011

Xinhua News Agency
February 22, 2011
South Korea's key presidential aide to visit U.S. for missile talks

SEOUL: A key presidential aide to South Korean President Lee Myung-bak will visit the United States for talks over revising guidelines on Seoul's missile development, local media reported Tuesday.

Kim Tae-hyo, presidential secretary for national security strategy, will leave for Washington this weekend to meet with U.S. officials, including Jeffrey Bader, the National Security Council' s director for Asian affairs, according to Seoul's Chosun Ilbo newspaper.

The two sides will reportedly discuss revising current guidelines limiting the firing range of South Korea's ballistic missiles to 300 kilometers, stipulated under the Missile Technology Control Regime aimed at restricting proliferation of missiles and missile technology.

South Korea has sought authorization to develop longer-range missiles to better deal with potential missile threats from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

The trip is at the request of the U.S. government, according to Chosun.

Related:

S Korea, U.S. to hold drills on western border islands: media

SEOUL, Feb. 22 : South Korea and the United States plan to hold drills this year on islands near a disputed western sea border between South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), local media reported Tuesday citing an unspecified military source.

The allies are currently discussing details of the exercise and planning to hold a separate landing drill off eastern and western coasts of the Korean peninsula this year, Seoul's Yonhap News Agency quoted an unnamed military official as saying. Full story


S. Korea seeks to double number of anti-submarine drills with U.S.

SEOUL, Jan. 7: South Korea's Navy chief said Friday he is planning to double the number of joint anti-submarine drills with the United States this year, Navy officials said.

South Korea is seeking to hold twice as many anti-submarine drills with the U.S. as they did last year and increase the overall number of combined exercises between the two allies, Navy officials said quoting Navy chief Kim Sung-chan.

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See also
Yonhap News
Rumsfeld urges S. Korea to take bigger role in its defense
Feb. 23, 2011