S.Korea to develop solid-fuel
space launch vehicle under revised guidelines with U.S.
July 28
South Korea will be able to develop
solid-fuel space launch vehicle under revised missile
guidelines with the United States, Yonhap news agency
reported Tuesday citing the presidential Blue House.
Kim Hyun-chong, deputy director of
the National Security Office (NSO) of the Blue House,
told a press briefing that the missile guidelines were
newly adopted as of Tuesday to completely lift the
restrictions on the use of solid fuel for space launch
vehicle.
The South Korea-U.S. missile
guidelines, first introduced in 1979 to restrict Seoul's
ballistic missile development, are categorized into
three parts, including the military ballistic missile,
the military cruise missile and the space rocket.
It was the fourth revision, and the
third was made in September 2017 to scrap the payload
limit of 500 kg for South Korea's ballistic missiles
with the range cap of 800 km.
Under the fourth revision, all of
South Korean companies, research institutes and even
individuals will be allowed to develop, produce and
possess various types of space launch vehicles using
solid and hybrid fuels as well as liquid fuel without
any restriction, Kim noted.
It would enable South Korea's
military to launch homegrown low-earth-orbit
reconnaissance satellites by the middle and late 2020s
as planned to enhance the country's capability of
intelligence and surveillance, he added.
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