South Korea has broken off negotiations with U.S. defense contractor Raytheon Company over missile imports. A Defense Ministry official said the talks will resume next year. He didn's say why the talks broke down. The Korea Times quoting a ministry official said ... the talks broke up due to a dispute over the timetable of payments for missiles and reported price hikes of the missiles. The U.S. second largest defense firm declined to comment. South Korea is seeking to purchase 48 surface-to-air missiles for one point six billion dollars to replace its ageing arsenal of Nike Hercules missiles, some of which have been accidentally fired in recent years.