Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

Republic of Korea, United States agree to revise missile guidelines: all restrictions on Seoul’s use of solid fuels for space launch vehicles lifted

Fourth revision to ROK-US missile guidelines: Second since the inauguration of the Moon administration
Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Hyun-chong announced: “All private companies and research institutes in the ROK, and all individuals with Korean citizenship will now be allowed to research, develop, produce and possess various forms of space launch vehicles”

With the revision of the missile guidelines between the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the United States (US), all restrictions on the ROK’s use of solid fuels for space launch vehicles have been lifted.

In a briefing at Chung Wa Dae on July 28, Deputy National Security Advisor Kim Hyun-chong announced that “The ROK and the US have agreed to adopt the fourth revision of the missile guidelines that lifts all restrictions on the ROK’s use of solid fuels for space launch vehicles from today, July 28, 2020.

“All private companies and research institutes in the ROK and all individuals with Korean citizenship will now be allowed to research, develop, produce and possess various forms of space launch vehicles that use not only liquid fuels but also solid and hybrid variants, without restrictions,” Kim explained.

“With the establishment of space infrastructures, a new route for the Korean New Deal’s expansion to space has emerged. This may be a chance for us to develop our own version of Space X,” Kim added. It is expected that this revision of missile guidelines will free up private companies to develop and produce space launch vehicles that use solid fuels.

The previous ROK-US missile guidelines limited the propulsive force of space launch vehicles to “one million pounds per second.” A unit of one million pounds per second is required to launch projectiles with a maximum range of 300 kilometers and maximum mass of 500 kilograms. As 50 or 60 million pounds per second is required to send a projectile into space, previous missile guidelines limited the use of the gross energy necessary for space launch vehicles to one-fiftieth to one-sixtieth this level.

“It was virtually impossible to make significant progress in developing a solid-fuel space rocket under such restrictions,” Kim added. For this reason, President Moon Jae-in ordered the National Security Office to contact the US National Security Council and solve the problem in October last year. After a nine-month period of intensive consultation between the ROK and the US, the two sides reached this decision. In this revision, however, the range of ballistic missiles remains restricted.

“For now, the 800-kilometer-range limit on ballistic missiles is being maintained. This decision lifts restrictions on the ROK’s use of solid fuels for space launch vehicles,” Kim said. “The 800㎞-kilometer-range limit will be lifted in due time.”

When asked is there was any connection between this decision and the Special Measures Agreement (SMA) negotiations, Kim said “SMA negotiations are ongoing, so we have nothing to say about it. Nothing was given in return (to the US),” stressing that there is no association between the two issues.

The ROK-US missile guidelines have been revised three times since they were first drawn up in 1979 to regulate the ROK’s development of ballistic missiles. In 1979, the ROK and the US agreed to a maximum missile range of 180 kilometers and maximum mass of 500 kilograms. The range was extended to 300 kilometers in the first revision made in 2001, and was extended to 800 kilometers in the second revision made in 2012. In the third revision made in September 2017, all restrictions on the mass of warheads were lifted, while the range of ballistic missiles remained at 800 kilometers.

By Lee Joo-hyeong  < jataka@dema.mil.kr >
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