LONDON – North Korea has completed development of a new Scud-class ballistic missile, a major newspaper in Seoul has reported.

South Korean offials said the Scud-ER has a range of 1,000 kilometers and marked a more accurate version than previous models. Officials said the Scud would be marketed to prospective clients in the Middle East.

So far, North Korea has sold the Scud-C and Scud-D models to export clients, including Iran, Libya and Syria, Middle East Newsline reported. The Scud C has a range of about 550 kilometers and the Scud D can reach 700 kilometers.

The Scud-ER has already been developed and supplied to the North Korean military, the Chosun Ilbo reported. The officials said missile development was completed in 2003.

"U.S. reconnaissance satellites spotted the new types of North Korean Scud missiles a couple of years ago," the Seoul-based Chosun Ilbo daily quoted a South Korean government source as saying on Feb. 15. "Work is continuing to see if they have been deployed for operations."

The South Korean Defense Ministry has refused to confirm the report. Chosun Ilbo has been regarded as an authoritative newspaper.

North Korea has also sold the No-Dong intermediate-range missile to Iran. But the No-Dong was said to have been an extended version of the Scud B, without enhanced navigational capabilities.

The South Korean National Intelligence Service told the National Assembly's intelligence committee that North Korea was having difficulty in weaponizing missiles. The service said Pyongyang did not have the technology to place nuclear warheads on North Korean ballistic missiles.

"Even if North Korea has developed nuclear weapons, it would be one or two old-style devices that can be delivered by plane," National Intelligence Service officials were quoted by the Yonhap news agency as telling the parliamentary committee. "In order to put a nuclear bomb on a missile, they should make it weigh less than 500 kilograms. But we don't think North Korea has acquired such technology."

Officials said the U.S. intelligence largely agrees with Seoul's assessment regarding North Korea's missile program. They said most of the information on Pyongyang's missile development was based on satellite reconnaissance that was interpreted in some cases with the help of South Korea as well as North Korean defectors.

On Feb. 16, CIA director Porter Goss told the Senate Select Intelligence Committee that North Korea was ready to resume testing of long-range missiles. Goss said Pyongyang has also been selling its most advanced missile technologies, which he termed a threat to the United States and its allies.

"North Korea continues to market its ballistic missile technology," Goss said. "North Korea continues to develop, produce, deploy and sell ballistic missiles with increasing range of sophistication. North Korea's continuing development and proliferation of WMD [weapons of mass destruction] and ballistic missile capabilities pose a serious threat to the U.S. and our allies."