North Korea reacts to no caps on South Korean missiles

The North Korean state news agency carried a commentary Monday attacking the US and South Korea for lifting all caps on South Korean missiles, the first commentary from the North since US President Joe Biden and South Korean President Moon Jae-in met on May 21.

The commentary attributed to Kim Myong Chol, who the Korean Central News Agency labeled an international affairs critic, referred to a "hostile policy" of "shameful double-dealing."

The author asserted that permitting South Korea to develop longer-range missiles was a "serious blunder" and would serve to create an "asymmetric imbalance in and around the Korean Peninsula."

What are the new terms of South Korea's missile program?

A 1979 deal with Washington had capped the range of South Korean missiles. The US had been fearful of triggering an arms race in the region.

Previously, South Korea had been limited to a 180-kilometer (112-mile) range for its missiles, enough to strike North Korea but not China or Japan. However, more recently the US had relaxed those rules and permitted South Korea to have missiles with a range of up to 800 kilometers (500 miles) and warheads of up to 500 kilograms (1,100 pounds).

Now, South Korea can develop missiles of unlimited range.

Some South Korean commentators see the new rules as an American effort to balance military power in the region against the Americans' emerging regional rival China. Others in South Korea saw it as a move towards greater independence over the country's military affairs.

Pyongyang's nuclear program in the crosshairs

The statement out of Pyongyang was attributed to an individual, not an official government organ or ministry, which veteran Korean Peninsula analysts believe means North Korea wishes to keep the door open to diplomacy with the Biden administration and possibly South Korea.

South Korean Unification Ministry spokeswoman Lee Jong-joo told the Associated Press that she would not comment as a result of the statement not coming from Pyongyang's government, also saying that Seoul "prudently watches" the statements and actions coming out of the North.

ar/msh (AP, dpa)