Seoul Again Rejects U.S. Missile Shield

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Seoul Again Rejects U.S. Missile Shield

The South Korean government reaffirmed Wednesday that at this time it is not willing to join the ballistic missile shield that the new U.S. administration seeks.

"Considering South Korea's geographical features, we are not considering at this stage joining the Theater Missile Defense system," Cho Seong-tae, the minister of defense, said before the National Assembly's National Defense Committee. "Taking the future battlefield environment into consideration, we believe that it is necessary to construct an anti-missile system that is in accordance with our circumstances and therefore are looking into other options."

Theater Missile Defense, a variant of the National Missile Defense system, is being pursued by the United States to protect its troops and allies.

Since it took office in January, the Bush administration has said that it plans to go ahead with deployment of an anti- missile system that was left suspended by the Clinton administration.

Russia and China have steadfastly opposed the U.S. plan, saying that it would trigger a global arms race.

Moscow argues that a National Missile Defense system would violate a 1972 treaty in which Washington and the Soviet Union agreed not to build anti-ballistic missile systems.

Tokyo has been studying a proposal for a Theater Missile Defense. Japan was shocked in 1998 when North Korea test-fired a medium-range Taepodong missile, which flew over Japan and landed in the Pacific.

Asked what the South Korean government's position is on this issue, Foreign Minister Lee Joung-binn said Wednesday that it is not necessary to put forth the country's position since Washington has not officially sought cooperation from the government.

Mr. Lee, who spoke before the Korea-Japan Cooperation Committee, explained that Washington seems to be pushing for the system to protect its country from long-range missiles that are being developed by others.

"However, rather than pushing for NMD, I believe that it would be much quicker and easier to seek fundamental solutions in addressing this problem," he said.

by Kim Min-seok

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