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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Afghanistan:  Peacekeepers Destroy Missile Parts

International peacekeepers in Afghanistan plan today to destroy three Scud-B missile warheads and three Frog 7 ballistic missiles found in an abandoned storage facility in Kabul, said New Zealand Squadron Leader Terry Hay, a spokesman for the force.  The missiles, which were discovered Monday, could not be launched, but each warhead contains 800 kilograms of TNT, he said.

“These six missile components laying in an abandoned building represented a significant threat to security had they fallen into the hands of hostile factions or terrorists,” Hay said (Associated Press/Kuala Lumpur Star, Nov. 6).

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North Korea:  Pyongyang Threatens to Resume Missile Tests

North Korea has threatened to resume ballistic missile testing unless progress is made in normalizing relations with Japan, Reuters reported today.

Pyongyang is “of the view that the D.P.R.K. (North Korea) should reconsider the moratorium on the missile test-fire in case the talks on normalizing the relations between the D.P.R.K. and Japan get prolonged without making any progress as was the case with the recent talks,” a North Korean Foreign Ministry said in a state-run Korean Central News Agency report.

North Korean and Japanese delegates met in Kuala Lumpur last week for two days of talks on normalizing relations between the two countries (see GSN, Oct. 30).  They remain divided on key issues such as Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program (see GSN, Nov. 4).

Japan will not compromise its position in the talks, said Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.  He added that he expects North Korea to abide by its missile test moratorium, which it agreed to extend indefinitely when Koizumi visited Pyongyang in September (see GSN, Sept. 18).

“I do not believe North Korea will trample on the fundamental spirit of our Pyongyang agreement,” Koizumi said.  “We will speak firmly as we continue our negotiations” (Sieg/Lies, Reuters, Nov. 5).

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