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S. Korea Nears Raising Missile Payload

The South Korean military is closer to increasing the maximum payload of its ballistic missiles from the current 500 kilograms to more than one ton.

Seoul's presidential office said that President Moon Jae-in held phone talks with U.S. President Donald Trump late Friday and agreed to revise the bilateral missile guideline to increase the maximum weight.

At present, under the missile guideline last revised in 2012, the South Korean military's ballistic missiles are limited to a range of 800 kilometers with the maximum weight of warheads capped at 500 kilograms.

South Korea is known to pushing to raise this ceiling to over one ton rather than seeking a longer range.

In the wake of North Korea's second launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on July 28th, President Moon ordered the start of working-level talks on revising the missile guideline with the U.S.

Washington has consented and working level procedures are under way.

After further consultation with the U.S., Seoul will set up a negotiation team to officially launch talks on the revision.

The timetable on the negotiation plan will likely materialize during the bilateral Security Consultative Meeting(SCM) to open in Seoul in October.

A South Korean foreign ministry official said Saturday that negotiations are expected to proceed smoothly as the two presidents have reached consensus on revising the missile guideline.