ED Lifting missile restrictions

Removal of guidelines enhances self-defense, scientific development

President Moon Jae-in announced the complete lifting of U.S. restrictions on Korean missile development following his summit with President Joe Biden, Friday. The removal of the U.S. guidelines is more than welcome in many ways. It will restore Korea's “missile sovereignty” for the first time in 42 years and enhance the nation's deterrent to possible threats from surrounding powers. The decision will also promote Korea's scientific, technological and industrial growth by allowing the nation to compete with other countries on an equal footing.

The missile restrictions were introduced in 1979 as Korea sought to develop its own weapons, in return for U.S. technology. Seoul agreed to limit the maximum range of its missiles to 180 km ― just enough to reach Pyongyang ― and the warhead payload to 500 kg. The two countries had since relaxed the guidelines four times until last year. Through these revisions, they extended the range to 800 km, scrapped the limit on warhead weight and lifted the ban on using solid fuel for space launch vehicles.

With all those restrictions gone, Korea can develop and possess any type of missile, including intercontinental ballistic missiles and submarine-launched ballistic missiles, at least in theory. That will inevitably trigger a backlash from North Korea and China. Pyongyang has shown hysterical responses to the South's buildup of conventional weapons. Beijing will regard the latest agreement between Seoul and Washington as a thinly veiled threat to its security based on the U.S. administration's careful calculations.

Given what China and North Korea have done in this part of the world, however, Friday's decision is just the beginning of striking a regional balance. Securing a deterrent is the self-defense strategy of any sovereign country. Pyongyang must return to dialogue with Seoul and Washington to discuss denuclearization and arms reduction issues. Beijing ought to encourage its communist ally to do so. The scrapping of restrictions should also help develop the South's aerospace industry, including the launch of satellites for scientific purposes.