"We plan to put the satellite into a low-altitude orbit by then," Lee Sang-Mok, chief of the strategic technology development division at Seoul's science and technology ministry, told AFP.

South Korean President Kim Dae-Jung unveiled part of the ambitious plan Wednesday when he told a group of the nation's leading scientists the country planned to build a satellite launch site.

He stressed to the gathering at the presidential office that the launch pad would be built with equipment made in South Korea.

Presidential aides said the space centre, the nation's first, would be located in either Namhae or Kohung, both on the southern coast.

Science ministry officials said the decision on the location would be made during the first half of next year.

According to a ministry draft plan, Seoul is to begin building the launch site in 2001 and have it ready for a test run by 2004. The projected is estimated at 130 billion won (115 million dollars).

South Korea has possessed six satellites, three for communications, the others for scientific research, but all were put into orbit abroad by foreign-manufactured rockets.

However, analysts said there is international concern the plan will help fuel an arms race in Northeast Asia.

Tension in the region increased in August last year when North Korea tested a medium-range missile over Japan. Pyongyang claimed the test was a multi-stage rocket designed to put a satellite into orbit.

The United States and its two regional allies, South Korea and Japan, reacted angrily to the claim, saying they suspected the North was testing the missile for a possible military attack.

South Korea has remained technically at war with the North since the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended in a truce, not in a peace treaty.

Little is known about South Korea's rocket technology, which is believed to be sophisticated enough to develop attack missiles.

Under a 1970s agreement with Washington, Seoul agreed to limit the range of its missiles to 180 kilometres (108 miles) and promised to abide by US-led global non-proliferation rules in return for US missile technology.

But South Korea now wants to officially boost its military rocket range to 300 kilometres, and 500 kilometres for scientific research and development.

Despite years of intensive talks, Seoul and Washington have made little progress on freeing South Korea from the 180-kilometre limit.

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MILSPACE
Missile Envy Dominates Asian Military Plans
Seoul (AFP) December 13, 1999 - Cash-strapped North Korea hopes to export medium-range ballistic missiles despite a moratorium on new test launches, South Korean reports said Sunday. The first client of North Korea's "Daepodong" missile with an estimated range of 1,380 kilometers (828 miles) will likely be Iran, Seoul's Yonhap news agency said.

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