China has test launched a DF-31 long-range ballistic missile, according to a report by the Russian news agency ITAR-TASS. The missile was said to have been launched from the Wuzhai launch site on Monday night.
To counter North Korea's short and medium-range ballistic missile arsenal, South Korea seeks to develop a sophisticated, long-range cruise missile with a firing range of over 300 kilometers, Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung said.
As part of the Bush administration's effort to forge a close strategic partnership with India, NASA has announced it will piggyback one of its lunar probes on India's lunar mission. Critics argue that cooperating with India will weaken the voluntary Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR).
University-built space payloads may get a lift from deactivated intercontinental ballistic missiles that are now on a trajectory for the scrap heap. The idea is to utilize the Peacekeeper missile, phased out under mutual nuclear arms reduction agreements inked between U.S. President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
India has served notice that it intends to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile to achieve worldwide reach with its nuclear arsenal.