NK MiG-29s intercept US RC-135
Posted: 2003-03-03 11:33pm
http://channels.netscape.com/ns/news/st ... story/0001%
N. Korean Jets Intercept U.S. Spy Plane
By ROBERT BURNS
WASHINGTON (AP) - North Korean fighter jets intercepted a U.S. Air Force reconnaissance plane over the Sea of Japan and one used its radar in a manner that indicated it might attack, U.S. officials said Monday.
Lt. Cmdr. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, said it was the first such incident since August 1969 when a North Korean plane shot down a U.S. EC-121 surveillance plane, killing 31 Americans.
The latest incident happened Sunday morning, Korean time, and there was no hostile fire, Davis said.
Four North Korean planes ``shadowed'' the American plane over international waters for about 20 minutes before breaking off, he said.
Two North Korean MiG29 fighters and two other aircraft that Davis said appeared to be MiG23 fighters intercepted the Air Force RC-135S reconnaissance plane, which Davis said was conducting a routine intelligence mission over the Sea of Japan about 150 miles off North Korea's coast.
The closest the fighters came was about 50 feet, Davis said.
He did not know whether there was any communication between the North Korean and American crews.
At one point one of the fighters ``locked on'' to the U.S. plane with its fire-support radar, Davis said. This is an action that would indicate a possible intent to fire, although in this case there was no hostile fire.
The U.S. plane broke off its mission and returned to its home station at Kadena Air Base in Japan, Davis said.
The incident happened amid heightened tensions between the United States and North Korea. The two countries have no formal diplomatic relations, and North Korea frequently complains that joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises are a prelude to a U.S.-led invasion.
The U.S. Air Force regularly flies U-2 spy plane missions to monitor North Korea's military, including its nuclear facilities.
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http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/03/03/nkorea ... index.html
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Bush administration plans to formally protest North Korea's actions during a weekend incident in which four North Korean jet fighters intercepted a U.S. surveillance plane over the Sea of Japan, officials said Monday.
The administration also said the incident could convince China and Russia to be more open to U.S. requests to apply pressure on Pyongyang.
"As they look at the facts of what happened here, it will be hard for Russia and China not to conclude, 'OK, now North Korea has gone too far,'" a senior administration official told CNN.
Tension has been rising on the Korean Peninsula since North Korea disclosed in October that it had renewed efforts to develop nuclear weapons it swore off in a 1994 agreement.
The official said the forum for lodging a formal protest had not been settled on, but that one possible method was to communicate with North Korean diplomats at the United Nations. Japan and South Korea are being consulted on the best approach, that and other officials said.
"There is no question this is a higher-level provocation than what we have been seeing," the senior official said. "This is a type of situation where one miscalculation and people lose their lives, and then there is the risk of some counter-response where more people can lose their lives."
In the incident Sunday, a U.S. Air Force RC-135S surveillance aircraft was intercepted over the Sea of Japan by four armed North Korean MiG fighters, U.S. military sources said.
One of the North Korean fighters locked its acquisition radar onto the RC-135S, a method used by fighter aircraft to locate another plane in the air, a Pentagon official said.
At least two of the planes were MiG-29s. The two other fighters were thought to be MiG-23s.
U.S. military sources said Monday that the Air Force plane was in international airspace about 150 miles [240 kilometers] off the Korean peninsula when the MiGs approached and flew alongside for 20 minutes, at some points coming within 50 feet of the U.S. plane. The Air Force plane returned to its base in Okinawa, Japan, without further incident.
Pentagon officials were trying to interpret the North Koreans' action Monday.
One theory is that North Korea was trying to engage the United States in order to provoke a response, much as China did in April 2001, when one of its fighter jets collided with an American EP-3 spy plane over international waters.
"They saw what the Chinese did with the EP-3," one senior administration official said.
The North Korean incident was "very deliberate," according to that official.
"If they get the U.S. to fire on them, that's 'proof' an invasion is right around the corner," he said.
'Bigger and bigger risks'
Whatever the motivation, U.S. officials agree that the incident shows Pyongyang is taking "bigger and bigger risks."
The RC-135S Cobra Ball aircraft is a modified version of the military C-135S cargo plane, which is based on Boeing's 707 commercial airliner. The aircraft are used to monitor areas where missiles are tested.
Last week, North Korea fired a short-range missile at sea during naval exercises, and Friday, Japanese newspapers reported that Pyongyang had tested a rocket booster for its Taepo Dong ballistic missiles at a launch site on the country's east coast in January.
In 1998, North Korea test-fired a missile that flew over Japan, raising tensions in the region.
Sunday's incident marked the first time in more than 30 years that North Korean aircraft have intercepted a U.S. plane, the sources said.
The previous interception occurred in 1969, when a North Korean fighter shot down a U.S. EC-121 reconnaissance aircraft over the Sea of Japan, killing more than 30 U.S. airmen, according to a Pentagon official.
N. Korean Jets Intercept U.S. Spy Plane
By ROBERT BURNS
WASHINGTON (AP) - North Korean fighter jets intercepted a U.S. Air Force reconnaissance plane over the Sea of Japan and one used its radar in a manner that indicated it might attack, U.S. officials said Monday.
Lt. Cmdr. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, said it was the first such incident since August 1969 when a North Korean plane shot down a U.S. EC-121 surveillance plane, killing 31 Americans.
The latest incident happened Sunday morning, Korean time, and there was no hostile fire, Davis said.
Four North Korean planes ``shadowed'' the American plane over international waters for about 20 minutes before breaking off, he said.
Two North Korean MiG29 fighters and two other aircraft that Davis said appeared to be MiG23 fighters intercepted the Air Force RC-135S reconnaissance plane, which Davis said was conducting a routine intelligence mission over the Sea of Japan about 150 miles off North Korea's coast.
The closest the fighters came was about 50 feet, Davis said.
He did not know whether there was any communication between the North Korean and American crews.
At one point one of the fighters ``locked on'' to the U.S. plane with its fire-support radar, Davis said. This is an action that would indicate a possible intent to fire, although in this case there was no hostile fire.
The U.S. plane broke off its mission and returned to its home station at Kadena Air Base in Japan, Davis said.
The incident happened amid heightened tensions between the United States and North Korea. The two countries have no formal diplomatic relations, and North Korea frequently complains that joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises are a prelude to a U.S.-led invasion.
The U.S. Air Force regularly flies U-2 spy plane missions to monitor North Korea's military, including its nuclear facilities.
----------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/03/03/nkorea ... index.html
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Bush administration plans to formally protest North Korea's actions during a weekend incident in which four North Korean jet fighters intercepted a U.S. surveillance plane over the Sea of Japan, officials said Monday.
The administration also said the incident could convince China and Russia to be more open to U.S. requests to apply pressure on Pyongyang.
"As they look at the facts of what happened here, it will be hard for Russia and China not to conclude, 'OK, now North Korea has gone too far,'" a senior administration official told CNN.
Tension has been rising on the Korean Peninsula since North Korea disclosed in October that it had renewed efforts to develop nuclear weapons it swore off in a 1994 agreement.
The official said the forum for lodging a formal protest had not been settled on, but that one possible method was to communicate with North Korean diplomats at the United Nations. Japan and South Korea are being consulted on the best approach, that and other officials said.
"There is no question this is a higher-level provocation than what we have been seeing," the senior official said. "This is a type of situation where one miscalculation and people lose their lives, and then there is the risk of some counter-response where more people can lose their lives."
In the incident Sunday, a U.S. Air Force RC-135S surveillance aircraft was intercepted over the Sea of Japan by four armed North Korean MiG fighters, U.S. military sources said.
One of the North Korean fighters locked its acquisition radar onto the RC-135S, a method used by fighter aircraft to locate another plane in the air, a Pentagon official said.
At least two of the planes were MiG-29s. The two other fighters were thought to be MiG-23s.
U.S. military sources said Monday that the Air Force plane was in international airspace about 150 miles [240 kilometers] off the Korean peninsula when the MiGs approached and flew alongside for 20 minutes, at some points coming within 50 feet of the U.S. plane. The Air Force plane returned to its base in Okinawa, Japan, without further incident.
Pentagon officials were trying to interpret the North Koreans' action Monday.
One theory is that North Korea was trying to engage the United States in order to provoke a response, much as China did in April 2001, when one of its fighter jets collided with an American EP-3 spy plane over international waters.
"They saw what the Chinese did with the EP-3," one senior administration official said.
The North Korean incident was "very deliberate," according to that official.
"If they get the U.S. to fire on them, that's 'proof' an invasion is right around the corner," he said.
'Bigger and bigger risks'
Whatever the motivation, U.S. officials agree that the incident shows Pyongyang is taking "bigger and bigger risks."
The RC-135S Cobra Ball aircraft is a modified version of the military C-135S cargo plane, which is based on Boeing's 707 commercial airliner. The aircraft are used to monitor areas where missiles are tested.
Last week, North Korea fired a short-range missile at sea during naval exercises, and Friday, Japanese newspapers reported that Pyongyang had tested a rocket booster for its Taepo Dong ballistic missiles at a launch site on the country's east coast in January.
In 1998, North Korea test-fired a missile that flew over Japan, raising tensions in the region.
Sunday's incident marked the first time in more than 30 years that North Korean aircraft have intercepted a U.S. plane, the sources said.
The previous interception occurred in 1969, when a North Korean fighter shot down a U.S. EC-121 reconnaissance aircraft over the Sea of Japan, killing more than 30 U.S. airmen, according to a Pentagon official.
