BEIJING, Oct. 8 (Xinhuanet) -- has negotiated a revised pact with the US, allowing it to extend the range of its ballistic missiles. The agreement, which more than doubles the current maximum, is designed to offer a better deterrent to perceived threats from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Chun Yung-Woo, S. Korean Nat’l Security Advisor, said, "We extended the maximum range of our ballistic missiles from the current 300 kilometers to 800 kilometers. And the payload limit is 500 kilograms for the extended range missiles. But we have adapted a trade-off system -- if we reduce the range of the missiles, we can increase the payload limit in inverse ratio. If the makes an armed attack or a provocation towards us, we will render the war potentials of its nuclear missile incapable at an early stage."

The new extension means South Korean missiles could potentially strike targets anywhere in the DPRK. But it still falls some way short of the arsenal held by the DPRK, which includes ballistic missiles with a range of 3,000 kilometers, capable of striking the entire Korean peninsula as well as US military installations in and Guam. South Korea had long called for a revision of the missile pact it signed with Washington in 1979, which stopped the country from developing ballistic missiles of longer ranges.

(Source: CNTV.cn)