By As the APEC summit in Pusan is about the kick off the North Koreans made sure they made their presence known by dispatching to fighter jets to cross the Northern Limit Line in the Yellow Sea:
“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.
I wonder if they will kill a few South Korean sailors over the course of the APEC summit while their at it?
