By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
South Korea has requested that the United States revise its law governing weapons sales to foreign countries so that Korea can buy key U.S. weapons systems at cheaper prices, the Defense Ministry said Monday.

Seoul made the request during the sub-panel sessions of the annual Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) in June last year and June this year in the U.S. Washington gave a positive response to it, ministry officials said.

``The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the U.S. State Department are now consulting on the matter,’’ said Jeon Heung-soo of the ministry’s public affairs office.

Due to a tight schedule, the two sides didn’t tackle the issue at the 37th SCM in Seoul last month, he added.

Under the U.S. Arms Export Control Act promulgated in 1976, the U.S. government is required to get Congressional approval to sell its key weapons and military technology to foreign countries.

Congressional approval is required for the sale of a weapons system worth $14 million or more and a combined sale of weapons worth $50 million or more.

But NATO member countries and the three favored nations _ Japan, Australia and New Zealand _ that jointly develop weapons systems with the U.S., are exempt from the law.

The favored countries only need a U.S. Congressional endorsement for purchase of a weapon system worth $25 million or more and a combined purchase of weapons worth $100 million or more.

In addition, the U.S. law charges non-NATO member countries more with a contract administration services fee (CAS), as they are required to pay 1.7 percent of the total weapons price, compared to between 0.2 and 1 percent for the favored nations.

The request for improving the country’s status as a weapons buyer came as South Korea is pushing for a military plan centered on the modernization of its weapons systems toward building a self-reliant defense capability.

Under the 15-year plan, the ministry seeks to boost its military spending by 6.2 percent per year to deploy high-tech weaponry in the armed forces.

The ministry estimates that about 272 trillion won (some $259 billion) is needed for the procurement of weapons systems. This accounts for 43.8 percent of the total 621 trillion won (some $591 billion) for the Defense Reform 2020.

About 120 nations are purchasing sophisticated U.S. weaponry, and South Korea is still largely dependent on U.S. arms sales in line with the U.S. troop presence here.

The U.S. maintains about 30,000 soldiers in South Korea as deterrence against North Korea.

gallantjung@koreatimes.co.kr