Originally posted by the Voice of America. Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America, a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in the public domain. SKorea to Buy European Long-Range Missiles South Korea has decided to upgrade its long-range missile arsenal with European-made weapons, after the Pentagon did not approve the sale of similar U.S. technology. Seoul`s state procurement agency on Wednesday said authorities have approved a plan to buy the air-launched cruise missiles made by the German-Swedish Taurus Systems joint venture. The Yonhap news agency said the number of missiles and proposed budget have not been confirmed. Seoul had expressed interest in the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles made by U.S. aerospace company Lockheed Martin. But the U.S. Defense Department has not approved the sale of the missile, which is classified as a strategic weapon. The GPS-guided missile, which will be used with South Korea`s F-15K strike fighters, has a range of 500 kilometers. Its bunker-busting warheads can penetrate up to 6 meters of reinforced concrete. South Korea has been looking to expand the range of its missile arsenal to counter what it says is a threat from its heavily armed neighbor, North Korea. __________________________________________________________________ [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/skorea-to-buy-european-longrange-miss iles/1684646.html References 1. http://www.voanews.com/content/skorea-to-buy-european-longrange-missiles/1684646.html