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FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794
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Posted on 04/09/2003 3:29:01 PM PDT by Heartlander2
Japan was forced to scramble F-15 jet fighters last week after suspected North Korean aircraft made a bold incursion into Japanese air space.
In what appears to be an act of provocation in the stand-off over Pyongyang's nuclear arms program, one or two aircraft reportedly entered Japanese air space from the direction of the Korean peninsula.
The aircraft appeared to be heading towards a Japanese reconnaissance aircraft, which was watching for a possible North Korean missile test.
The incident on April 1, reported yesterday by Japan's Mainichi newspaper, ended when the aircraft left Japanese air space before interception by the two F-15 fighters that had been scrambled.
News of the incident came as North Korea warned Japan that it was "within striking distance" of the communist state's weapons.
In a statement carried yesterday by North Korea's official news agency, Pyongyang claimed that Japan was "turning to the right" and remilitarising.
"Japan should behave with discretion, clearly mindful it is also within striking range of the DPRK (North Korea)," the statement said.
Japan's Defence Agency yesterday refused to comment on the report of the intrusion. "We cannot give any detailed information about our defence activities, because that sort of information can disturb our efforts to defend Japan's territories," an official said.
The incident comes at a time of high tension between North Korea and Japan, and occurred only three days after Tokyo launched two spy satellites primarily designed to monitor North Korea.
Japan, a chief ally of the United States in the region, regards itself as a possible soft target for a North Korean missile attack if the crisis over Pyongyang's nuclear arms program degenerates into war.
The April 1 incident is the first direct act by North Korea against Japan in a crisis that began last October when the North admitted to having a nuclear arms program.
In the April 1 incident, Mainichi reported that Japan's Defence Agency believed the unidentified aircraft were probably North Korean fighters.
After they entered Japanese air space, a warning was issued to the aircraft on an international emergency frequency.
When they did not respond and continued flying towards the reconnaissance plane, Japan scrambled two F-15s from Komatsu Air Base, on its west coast.
The unidentified aircraft turned back and left Japan's air space before the F-15s approached.
The newspaper said it was unclear how close the North Korean aircraft had come to the Japanese reconnaissance plane, although one source quoted said: "It wasn't close enough for the situation to become tense."
News of the incident yesterday coincided with a decision by the US military to relocate its headquarters from the middle of the South Korean capital of Seoul, removing a prime target for a North Korean attack.
After two days of talks in Seoul, the US and South Korea announced that the sprawling Yongsan Garrison would be moved to a new location in South Korea as soon as possible.
The garrison, on a site used by the Japanese military during its occupation of the Korean peninsula, is a strategic liability in the densely populated city of 10 million.
The US is reviewing the placement of its 37,000 troops in South Korea, eager to remove them from the front line of defence against North Korea and relocate them south of Seoul.
There was no decision on removing the 14,000 US troops stationed north of Seoul towards the demilitarised zone that divides the two Koreas.
The US troops have traditionally acted as the "trip-wire", meaning that an invasion by the North would trigger US retaliation.
But Washington believes the trip-wire concept is outdated, and wants front-line defence to be undertaken by South Korea's own substantial forces.
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FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794
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That is easy!
They want attention!
They will get what Arafat got.............................Zippidydooda!
Guess who's next.
They're socialists and they're hurting (as all socialist entities do eventually) - they may implode without our assistance. The question is how they will react to the implosion. Perhaps S. Korea can take over and straighten things out.
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