By Lee Tae-hoon
A leading lawmaker has called for parliamentary action if Cheong Wa Dae remains reluctant to push Washington to lift its guidelines that impose restrictions on South Korea’s ballistic missile range.
Rep. Ahn Hong-joon, chairman of the National Assembly’s committee on foreign affairs, trade and unification said that the range, currently limited to 300 kilometers, should be increased to 1,000 kilometers to cover North Korea in its entirety.
“It’s a national disgrace,” said the three-term lawmaker of the ruling Saenuri Party during an interview last week. He referred to the South Korea-U.S. missile guidelines that restrict Seoul from developing ballistic missiles with ranges of over 300 kilometers and with payloads over 500 kilograms.
Rep. Ahn didn’t elaborate on what action the Assembly should take, but a resolution could be one of the options readily available.
“The missile guidelines touch on our sovereign right to self-defense,” he said.
The 61-year-old lawmaker pointed out the United States should stop interfering with South Korea’s development of missiles as long as they are defensive in nature.
“South Korea is a mature democratic country that will never launch an armed attack against neighboring countries unless it is provoked,” the medical doctor-turned-lawmaker said.
The two allies are said to be in the final stages of negotiations and an extension is expected.
The chairman noted that Korea’s missile range should be extended to 1,000 kilometers to bring all of North Korea’s territory within striking range, including missile launches and underground nuclear test sites in North Hamgyeong Province.
He pointed out that neighboring countries have made significant advancements in missile technology.
China has DF-31A intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) with a range of 10,200 kilometers and Russia possesses the SS-27 ICBM that can travel 10,100 kilometers.
Japan has developed the M-V rocket, which uses a solid-fuel rocket and could be converted into an ICBM. The M-V rocket has a range of 10,000 kilometers.
The North has deployed the Musudan missile with an alleged range of 2,500 kilometers and is testing a Taepodong-2 ballistic missile, which is presumed to have a range of 6,700 kilometers.
A report by the National Assembly Research Service released Tuesday also points out that the missile guidelines may violate Korea’s sovereignty and does not properly reflect security challenges that the South is facing in Northeast Asia.
The report claims that Korea signed the first bilateral missile agreement with Washington in 1979 due to the country’s heavy reliance on U.S. technology in developing the NHK-1, an indigenous ballistic missile with a range of 180 kilometers.
It argues that the current bilateral missile guidelines revised a decade ago to extend the range from 180 kilometers to 300 kilometers is also hampering the country’s space industry, including the development of a solid-fuel propulsion system.
Some experts say, unlike a pact or treaty, the bilateral guidelines are not legally binding and therefore play no authority in limiting Korea’s missile capability.
Meanwhile, the 61-year-old lawmaker ruled out the possibility of resuming talks with Japan over a possible signing of the General Security of Military Information Agreement aimed at exchanging military intelligence on the North.
“Japan’s recent historical distortion on Dokdo and its denial of forced wartime sexual enslavement of Korean women have made it impossible for such sensitive issues as the GSOMIA to be discussed at the parliamentary level,” he said.
He also said the South should take a more flexible attitude toward the North, which is showing some signs of reform following Swiss-educated Kim Jong-un’s taking of power after his father's death in December last year.
“Further economic sanctions on the North will only lead the reclusive regime to have greater dependency on China,” he said.