Missile Threat Doesn’t End with War, As Syria Obtains North Korean Scuds

The defeat of Iraq apparently has not ended the Scud missile threat to Israel.

Israeli military sources said Thursday that Syria is obtaining North Korean Scud C missiles that are more accurate than the Iraqi-made Scuds launched at Israel during the six-week Persian Gulf war.

The Scud C has a range of over 300 miles and is much more accurate. Launchers deployed deep inside Syria could reach targets in southern Israel, the sources quoted by Israel Radio said.

Moreover, the Syrians are said to have the ability to tip the new Scuds with chemical weapons they have developed, the sources said.

Military sources said it has been known for some time that Syria was trying to obtain an improved version of the Scuds, which were originally designed in the Soviet Union.

After Moscow rejected Damascus’ bid to purchase Soviet-built SS-23 missiles, the Damascus government turned to North Korea for improved Scuds. A shipload of Korean missiles has already arrived in Syria, and another is on the way, the Israeli sources said.

The report that Syria is building a Scud missile arsenal coincides with debates in and outside government circles over whether the time is ripe for peace negotiations with Syria.

The idea has been advanced by Foreign Minister David Levy, who believes Israel should launch a peace initiative in the aftermath of the Gulf war.

Levy is opposed by Likud hard-liners and coalition partners even further to the right who shun negotiations involving the Golan Heights, which Israel annexed from Syria in 1980.