"We must pay attention to what the defense ministry has said about the medium-range ballistic missile report," the official said.
"The ministry only denies that the military is developing a missile project called `Dichin.' It hasn't denied that there is a medium-range ballistic missile project in existence in the military," the official said.
"The medium-range ballistic missile is likely an extension of the Sky Horse project in the 1970s, also a medium-range ballistic missile development project. Though the Sky Horse was cancelled due to pressure from the US, the medium-range ballistic missile project has never really stopped," he said.
The Sky Horse project, though officially terminated in 1982, has reportedly had some success, with around eight to ten missiles successfully being produced before the whole program stopped.
The missile is said to have a maximum range of 1,000km.
The Sky Horse project was a continuation of a short-range ballistic missile project code-named "Green Bee."
The Green Bee development project, which began in 1975, was called a success by Chung Shan in 1980 after a prototype of the short range ballistic missile had been successfully test-fired seven times.
But whether the military has deployed any of the Green Bee or Sky Horse missiles remains a mystery.
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