N. Korean MIG Flies Into South’s Airspace

SEOUL â€”  A North Korean fighter jet briefly crossed into South Korean airspace this morning over the Yellow Sea, prompting the South Korean air force to send six fighter planes of its own and put ground-to-air missiles on alert.

The two-minute incursion ended without incident, but nonetheless raised tensions at a time when nerves are already on edge over the North’s nuclear program and its threat to pull out of the 1953 armistice that ended the Korean War.

South Korea’s military said that the flight was the first such incursion since 1983 and that it would lodge an official protest.

“We are analyzing the intentions behind this incursion and planning to protest after the analysis is completed,� said a spokesman for its joint chiefs of staff.

Another spokesman said that at 10:03 a.m., the Soviet-made MIG-19 crossed the northern limit line that is in effect the maritime border between the Koreas, flying seven miles into the South’s airspace before retreating. The jet was spotted before it crossed, and the South’s air force said it put antiaircraft missiles into battle position.

At the same time, six South Korean F-5E jets were deployed to try to intercept the intruder.

South Korean military analysts suggested that the incident was a deliberate provocation on the part of the North Koreans, who have been trying to compel the United States to the negotiating table with their nuclear program. This week, a North Korean military unit stationed at the DMZ threatened to pull out of the 50-year-old armistice agreement if the U.S. imposed economic sanctions or a naval blockade over the nuclear issue.

“North Korea is doing everything it can to provoke,� said Yu Suk Ryul of the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security. “This will continue until or unless the nuclear issue is settled with the United States.�

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Chi Jung Nam in The Times’ Seoul Bureau contributed to this report.