N.K. flight maneuvers rise near border

North Korea has significantly increased its fighter jet maneuvers near the border with the South since the inauguration of President Lee Myung-bak, thereby putting the South Korean military on high alert, a Seoul official said yesterday.

Since late February, the North`s MIG-21 and other fighter jets have done sorties very close to the Demilitarized Zone and the Northern Limit Line more than 10 times, according to a military official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

South Korean jet fighters scrambled to counter a possible breach by the North Korean aircraft, he said.

According to this official, North Korean warplanes took off from an airbase in Tokchon, South Pyeongan Province. They crossed the Tactical Action Line, in apparent saber-rattling maneuvers.

The Tactical Action Line is a conceptual line designated at from 20-50 kilometers north of the inter-Korean border by the South Korean military -- to be used for an early reaction to the North`s possible infiltration of the border. South Korean fighter jets would cross the border if North Korean aircraft pass the TAL. North Korean fighters can hit Seoul within 3-5 minutes after take-off.

The rate of near-border maneuvers increased immediately after the new South Korean government came into office on Feb. 25, the official said.

The North Korean air force conducted the maneuver perhaps five times last Friday during its launch tests of missiles, he said.

"The North Korean military stepped up its air force and armored troops exercises during this year`s winter-time exercises. The number of drills increased by about 50 percent compared to previous years," the official added.

The North holds annual military drills during the winter throughout the nation from December to April.

Earlier this month, the 815 Mechanized Corps, the North`s key forces based in Hwanghae Province, conducted a large-scale training operation, moving subordinate tanks and armored vehicles southward, he said.

North Korea has recently escalated tension with the South, in response to the new Seoul government`s North Korea policy.

On Thursday, Pyongyang expelled 11 South Korean officials from the joint industrial complex in Gaeseong. It test-fired several short-range missiles into the West Sea on Friday.

Over the weekend, the North demanded that Seoul apologize for remarks by its Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, who suggested that the South would strike the North`s nuclear facilities if it knew of a planned attack here. The regime of Kim Jong-il has threatened to suspend all dialogue if the Lee government does not retract the statement.

By Jin Dae-woong

(davidpooh@heraldm.com)