Since January 2011, the governments of the Republic of Korea and the United States have been negotiating a revision of the U.S.-ROK New Missile Guidelines. The ROK government is demanding a more flexible agreement that allows for enhanced missile capabilities, including an extension to range and warhead weight. South Korea considers these revisions critical to robust military deterrence against North Korea.

Since the guidelines limit the maximum range of South Korea’s missiles to less than 300 kilometers, South Korea’s ballistic missiles are not capable of hitting all of North Korea, resulting in a critical military imbalance and gap in South Korea’s defenses.

The U.S. government responded to South Korea’s demands by claiming that North Korea’s missile threat is a strategic alliance issue as well as a ROK issue. And, the U.S. is concerned that revising the New Missile Guidelines will weaken nonproliferation efforts.

This stark difference in perspectives impedes reaching an agreement on revised guidelines. Both governments would do well to recall the “Joint Vision for the Alliance of the United States and the Republic of Korea” signed by President Barack Obama and President Lee Myung-bak in 2009.

The Joint Vision statement is a blueprint for the future of the ROK-U.S. alliance. It states, “We will maintain a robust defense posture, backed by allied capabilities which support both nations’ security interests.” As an equal partner in the alliance, the Republic of Korea is asserting that it needs enhanced missile capabilities as part of a robust defense posture and in order to support its security interests.

The spirit of the Joint Vision statement, if not the letter, should lead the U.S. to grant South Korea’s request to enhance its ballistic missile and unmanned aerial vehicle capabilities.

The Joint Vision also states, “We will strengthen civil space cooperation.” Considering that the technology involved in ballistic missiles is similar to space technology, if the U.S. grants South Korea’s request regarding missile technology it is also living up to the spirit of the agreement as it pertains to civil space cooperation. As of now, there is no substantial civil space cooperation between the two nations despite what was declared in the Joint Vision. South Korea launched satellites in cooperation with Russia, not the United States.

During the past 19 months, U.S. and ROK government officials have been locked in earnest negotiations. Now, it is time for a decision. As we are moving close to presidential elections in both nations, South Korea’s presidential candidates cannot avoid declaring their stance on various aspects of the U.S.-ROK relationship, including a revision of the U.S.-ROK New Missile Guidelines. How the U.S. handles the revision of the U.S.-ROK New Missile Guidelines, as well as the re-negotiation and renewal of the U.S.-ROK Nuclear Energy Cooperation Agreement, will be a strategic signal to Koreans regarding not just what the U.S. military pivot to Asia means to Korea, but also the extent to which the U.S. trusts and values its alliance with Korea.

When President Obama and President Lee signed and announced the Joint Vision in 2009, it was their pledge to the Korean and U.S. people. We must take the vision and make it into a reality. One element of doing so involves ensuring that South Korea is enabled to develop defense capabilities to fulfill its end of the Joint Vision statement including leading the combined defense and partnering with the U.S. in an alliance of regional and global scope.

The Korean people are looking to the U.S. to fulfill both the letter and spirit of the Joint Vision. Let’s finish the renegotiation of the New Missile Guidelines so we can focus on even bigger and more important aspects of the Joint Vision.

By Park Jinho

Park Jinho is a legislative assistant to Rep. Hwang Jinha of the ruling Saenuri Party. ― Ed.