NK rocket prompts S. Korea to consider expanding missile arsenal

By Sam Kim
SEOUL, April 5 (Yonhap) -- South Korea plans to consider expanding its missile
arsenal under its military partnership with the United States, as North Korea's
rocket poses a threat to their joint defense capabilities, a South Korean
official said Sunday.
The rocket launched by North Korea earlier in the day "will affect the joint
South Korea-U.S. capabilities to maintain their operations when the U.S. deploys
additional troops," South Korean Army Brigadier General Kim Jong-bae told
reporters.
Kim was referring to a joint operational plan in which the U.S. sends tens of
thousands of troops to South Korea should North Korea provoke another war on the
divided peninsula.
About 28,500 U.S. troops are regularly stationed in South Korea, but North
Korea's long-range missiles "could cause delays in the additional deployment of
U.S. troops," he said.
"That's why we will consider expanding the joint South Korea-U.S. missile
capabilities," Kim said. He did not elaborate, but experts have said a rocket
launch by North Korea would prompt the allies to step up their cooperation in
missile defense.
South Korea has yet to join the U.S. missile defense program, while Japan has
stepped up its cooperation with the U.S. since 1998 when North Korea test-fired a
Taepodong-1 missile over its territory.
South Korea, Japan and the U.S. believe North Korea's Sunday launch is a
disguised test of a Taepodong-2 missile, which can theoretically reach Alaska and
Hawaii.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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