Russia, S. Korea to produce rocket carrier

Russia has reached an agreement with South Korea to design a rocket carrier for it, the Interfax news agency reported Thursday. Under the joint project KSLV, Russia's Khrunichev spaceship design and production center will work out the blueprint of the rocket and South Korea will manufacture it, according to a press release from the Russian side. The launch of the rocket is scheduled for 2007, the statement said, but giving no further details of the rocket's technical features. The KSLV agreement was signed during a visit to S. Korea by a Russian delegation comprising delegates of the Khrunichev center and other design and machine building companies.