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Reuters and AFP. 3 March 2003. North Korean fighters intercept US spy plane. WASHINGTON -- Four North Korean fighter jets intercepted a U.S. Air Force reconnaissance plane in international airspace over the Sea of Japan on Sunday and came within 50 feet of the big American jet while shadowing it, the Pentagon said on Monday. Two advanced MiG-29 fighters and two others believed to be MiG-23s intercepted the four-engine RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft 150 miles off the coast of North Korea and shadowed the American jet for about 20 minutes, said Navy Lt. Cmdr. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman. At one stage the fighters came within 15 metres (50 feet) of the Air Force RC-135S aircraft on Sunday, said Davis. "The fighters were armed. During the intercept at least one of the fighters engaged fire support radar and locked on to the RC-135," said Davis. Turning on the fire support radar is normally the final stage before opening fire on a target. The American aircraft was about 240 kilometers (150 miles) off the North Korean coast, in the Sea of Japan, when it was intercepted by four North Korean fighter aircraft, the official said. Davis said two MiG-29s and what appeared to be two MiG-23s tailed the American plane for 22 minutes from 0148 GMT Sunday. "The RC-135 returned to base in Kadena, Japan without damage," he said. The spokesman said it was the first such incident since August 1969 when a US EC-121 was shot down over the Sea of Japan, killing 31 people. North Korea on Tuesday charged that a US RC-135 spy plane penetrated its airspace over the Sea of Japan as part of preparations for a preemptive attack. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ProletarianNews http://www.utopia2000.org --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bdn7KI.YXJjaGl2 Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] TOPICA - Start your own email discussion group. FREE! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/create/index2.html ==^================================================================
