http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2012/09/113_120849.html
S. Korea, US agree in principle to extend missile range
09-25-2012 18:33
![](https://t1.daumcdn.net/cfile/cafe/133A143F506239A20D)
# Please notice that the extended missile range of 800 km covers parts of China and Japan
South Korea and the United States have agreed in principle to extend the range of South Korean ballistic missiles from 300km to 800km, and keep intact the payload weight at 500kg, diplomatic sources said Sunday.
Ballistic missiles with the extended range will put the whole of North Korea within reach if they were launched from the Missile Command headquarters in the South Korea's central city of Jincheon, North Chungcheong Province, the sources said.
Missiles with a range of 300km could attack neither strategic missile bases in Dongchangni and Musudan nor Pyongyang.
In 2001, the two allies agreed that South Korea will develop missiles with a range of 300km.
South Korea has sought to rewrite its missile range pact with the U.S. _ first signed in 1979 and revised in 2001 _ to counter the threat posed by North Korea's missile arsenal, since the North Korean attack on the Yeonpyeong Island near the western sea border in November 2010. Under the 1979 agreement, South Korea developed missiles with a range of 180km or less.
Currently, North Korea has the Taepo-dong 2 missile with a range of 6,000km or more, the Musudan with 3,000 to 4,000km and the Taepo-ding 1 with 2,000 to 2,900km.
Although South Korea and the U.S. agreed to extend the range, it will take time for them to sign a final accord since the new missile policy between the two is expected to trigger protests from China and Japan, diplomatic observers said.
Moreover, extension of the range of ballistic missiles draws international concern as it is related to non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, they said.
The government plans to make public the agreement to extend the range of the missiles before a Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) which is scheduled for Oct. 25 in Washington, diplomatic sources said.
But it remains to be seen whether the two sides will make a final agreement before the SCM since they differ over details of the accord, they added.