Posted on 11/11/2005 4:11:51 AM PST by TigerLikesRooster
South Korea intercepts two N.Korea fighter jets
By Kim So-young
Fri Nov 11, 3:12 AM ET
SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea scrambled six fighter jets on Friday to intercept two North Korean planes that briefly crossed a disputed frontier over the Yellow Sea before heading back, the South Korean military said.
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It was not immediately clear why the aircraft had flown south of the disputed Northern Limit Line, known as the NLL.
But the incident occurred as six countries, including the North, met without evident progress in Beijing to discuss how to end Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programs.
It was also a day before a week of high-level meetings of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation ( APEC) forum began in the southern port city of Pusan, the only part of the Korean peninsula not to fall into Northern hands in the 1950-53 Korean War.
"The South Korean radar system detected immediately that the North Korean fighter jets had flown across NLL," a statement from the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said. "The South Korean air force mobilized six fighter jets to force them back into North Korea."
It said the Northern planes turned back without responding.
A spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff said by telephone the South was investigating whether the incident happened during military training or for another reason. North Korea is so short of aviation fuel that its air force pilots get scarcely any operational or training hours aloft.
The North has in the past sought to grab the limelight when South Korea hosts an international event. There was a naval clash in precisely the same disputed area during the 2002 soccer World Cup that South Korea co-hosted with Japan.
"The North Koreans always like to do something to upstage the South," said Ralph Cossa, head of the Pacific Forum CSIS think tank, by telephone.
"This is the South Koreans' premier moment to shine so you can almost guarantee the North Koreans will be doing something," said Cossa, speaking before the fighter incident.
The Northern Limit Line, drawn by U.S.-led United Nations forces when the Korean War ended in an armed truce, is the de facto sea border.
The North says the line is invalid and observes a notional frontier farther south, embracing rich fishing grounds. This has led to naval clashes in which dozens of sailors from both sides have died.
(Additional reporting by Jon Herskovitz)
Ping!
I relish the day when I hear of Kim's violent death.
Me too... I hope it becomes extremely violent and uncomfortable...
Me, too. "Ceausescu in platform shoes" lying on his pool of blood.
The other five should tell NK that if your nukes aren't gone in 3 weeks, we will nuke them ourselves.
Maybe just Kim fly toy planes it could happen LOL!
Satellite Imagery of North Korean Nodong Missile Test Facility. First ever satellite photo obtained for this website for public inspection. Photo came from a reliable unamed source....
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1663536/posts
source: http://kokonutpundits.blogspot.com/2006/07/satellite-imagery-of-north-korean.html
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