North Korea threatens South's planes, agrees to UN talks

Mar 5, 2009, 15:28 GMT

Seoul - North Korea on Thursday indirectly threatened to shoot down South Korean passenger aircraft in its airspace, amid growing tension on the Korean peninsula.

North Korea's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea made the threat as the United States and South Korea prepared to undertake joint annual military exercises next Monday.

North Korea could no longer guarantee the safety of civilian aircraft flying in or near its airspace over the Sea of Japan, the committee said in a statement released by state media.

South Korea's official Yonhap newspaper reported that Korea Air, the country's biggest carrier, had already started making changes to some of their routes, while Asiana Airlines also planned similar security measures.

Under an international accord, South Korean aircraft fly for a short while through North Korean airspace on routes between South Korea and cities in the US.

Pyongyang on Thursday, meanwhile, accepted a proposal to meet Friday with the US-led UN Command on reducing tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

   The meeting would include generals from both sides after consultations between officers of North Korea and the UN force at the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom, the South Korean-based UN Command said.

   The agreement came after Monday's first meeting between high- ranking officers of the North's Korean People's Army and the UN force in nearly seven years. That meeting was called on the initiative of North Korea.

   'The purpose of the meetings is to discuss practical armistice- related issues, reaffirm commitment to the general officer forum and reduce tension on the Korean Peninsula,' the UN Command said.

   The UN Command has had the task since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War to monitor the ceasefire that ended the conflict. No peace treaty was ever signed, leaving the two Koreas still technically at war.

   South Korea said the North used Monday's meeting to criticize the US-South Korea military exercises. Pyongyang has accused both Washington and Seoul of using the manoeuvres set to begin Monday and last through March 20 to prepare for war against the North.

   Tensions between the two Korean capitals have risen substantially this year. North Korea has repeatedly threatened the South with destruction while accusing its government of pursuing a confrontational policy.

   The South said North Korea has been preparing for weeks to test- fire an intercontinental ballistic missile while North Korea said it was readying a satellite launch.