The
air confrontation Sunday, March 2, was the most serious military
incident since the nuclear crisis between the two Cold War rivals
erupted four months ago.
Analysts
said the escalating tensions reflected desperation in North Korea, which
has yet to find an exit from the four-month-old crisis over its
suspected nuclear weapons programs.
The
Pentagon said four North Korean MiG jets intercepted a U.S. RC-135
surveillance plane and illuminated the U.S. aircraft with radar weapons
sights in international airspace over the Sea of Japan on March 2.
Pentagon
spokesman Lieutenant Commander Jeff Davis said the North Korean MiG-29s
came within 50 feet (15 meters) of the big American jet and tailed the
lumbering four-engine U.S. plane for 22 minutes, reported Agence
France-Presse (AFP).
The
U.S. plane returned to its base in Japan without damage, but a State
Department official blasted North Korea for a "provocative"
act and said a formal protest was under consideration.
Japan
Calm Over Mid-Air Crisis
For its part, Japan Tuesday tried to calm tensions after North Korea's
reported interception of the American reconnaissance plane but warned
Pyongyang not to provoke the United States.
"There
are details that are not yet clear about the incident," Japanese
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi told reporters.
"Is
it part of (North Korea's) brinkmanship? I do not wish them to take
provocative action."
The
top government spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda, said
Tokyo hoped the incident would not raise regional tensions.
"But
we are not in a position to do anything about U.S. military
action," he told a news conference, adding that the Japanese
government would closely monitor the situation.
Japanese
Defense Agency Director General Shigeru Ishiba called the incident an
extraordinary situation, but added the incident did not threaten Japan's
peace or security.
Military
War Games Start
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"There
are details that are not yet clear about the incident,"
Koizumi
|
The
wider nuclear crisis leant added significance and symbolism to the
annual military exercises carried out by the U.S. and South Korean
forces, which began Tuesday.
This
year's exercise, codenamed RSOI/FE 03, will be staged throughout South
Korea until April 2, backed by a U.S. aircraft carrier to be deployed
near the Korean peninsula.
Thousands
of U.S. soldiers have already been out near the heavily armed
inter-Korean border for a warm-up mock battle ahead of RSOI/FE 03.
"The
exercises began today with preparations to receive 5,000 American
soldiers brought from the United States and the Pacific region," a
U.S. military official told AFP.
Seoul
and Washington have refused to disclose the number of soldiers mobilized
for the exercises, which they said are designed to improve the ability
of allied forces to defend South Korea against an invasion by North
Korea.
Last
year, the exercises involved hundreds of thousands of South Korean and
U.S. troops including some 37,000 American soldiers based here and
reinforcements from abroad. North Korea has angrily condemned the joint
drills as preparations for an invasion.
Last
week U.S. officials said North Korea restarted a five-megawatt nuclear
reactor at Yongbyon, which had been frozen under the deal because of its
capability of producing weapons-grade plutonium.
The
State Department warned North Korea Monday not to reprocess spent fuel
that U.S. officials believe could be used to make five or six nuclear
bombs by the middle of the year.
The
warning followed reports at the weekend that U.S. spy satellites had
detected activity around the reprocessing plant at Yongbyon.
