International Response:  China Hesitates to Sign Missile Code of Conduct

China said today that it probably will not sign a proposed international code of conduct to halt ballistic missile proliferation, which is set to be finalized at a conference at The Hague later this month (see GSN, Aug. 23).

“We support the principle of anti-proliferation in the code,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan said yesterday at a press conference in Beijing.  China, however “is very regretful that the final document of the code did not absorb or adopt the Chinese suggestions, making it difficult for China to participate in the code,” he added.

China is still committed to working with other countries to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles, regardless of its position on the code, Kong said.

“Whether we participate in this code of conduct will by no means influence the determination and practice of the Chinese government’s firm opposition to large-scale destructive weapons,” Kong said.  “Nor will it influence cooperation between China and the international community in this field,” he added (Reuters/Yahoo.com, Nov. 12).

It would be “unfortunate” if China decided to not sign the code, a U.S. State Department official recently told the Wall Street Journal.  “It is our belief that the requirements for disclosure are quite modest.  We feel there’s nothing in the text per se that would affect their national security,” the official added.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry official has told European diplomats that China would like to send a senior official to address the Hague conference, according to the Journal.  China would attend the conference in an observer capacity, however, and the organizers of the conference so far have no provisions for observers, the Journal reported (Susan Lawrence, Wall Street Journal, Nov. 8).

For further information, see:

Draft International Code of Conduct (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute)

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South Korea:  Seoul to Test First Liquid-Fueled Rocket

The South Korean Science and Technology Ministry announced plans today to conduct a Nov. 27 flight test of South Korea’s first indigenously developed liquid-fueled rocket (see GSN, Nov. 28, 2001).

The Korea Sounding Rocket 3 will be launched from the Anheung Proving Ground, 160 kilometers southwest of Seoul, the ministry said, according to Yonhap news agency.  During the test, the rocket is expected to reach an altitude of 42 kilometers at a speed of 902 meters per second and travel for 85 kilometers before falling into the ocean off South Korea’s western coast.

The three-stage KSR-3 represents a significant step in developing a satellite launch vehicle, the ministry said (Xinhua.net, Nov. 7).

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