By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
The U.S. move to sell unmanned reconnaissance aircraft to South Korea is facing opposition from Russia and other member countries of a global arms control pact, defense sources said Thursday.
At the request of South Korea, the United States has pushed to revise the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) to allow the sale of the Global Hawk to the Korean military. But some member nations are expressing concern about the possible spread of advanced technology regarding unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), they said.
The MTCR is a voluntary association of countries that share the goal of non-proliferation of ballistic missiles and other unmanned delivery systems that could be used for chemical, biological and nuclear attacks. The $45-million Global Hawk is classified as category 1 under the 34-member regime.