SEOUL March 7 Kyodo southern Kore...

SEOUL March 7 Kyodo

southern Korea urged North Korea forward Friday to stop activities that could increase tensions, referring to an incursion by the agency of North Korean military aircraft into southern Korea's airspace and their interception of a U reconnaissance plane.

The Defense Ministry said in a statement it has ''deep concerns'' that similar North Korean military activities will undermine efforts by dint of South Korea and the international community to peacefully reduce the impasse over the North's suspected nuclear weapons program.

The ''tension-building'' activities will ''also bring serious inferences for the security of the Korean Peninsula,'' the statement said.

The ministry urg the North Korean military to ''act in a more considerate and responsible manner.''

upon Feb. 20, a North Korean MiG-19 fighter briefly troubleed the western maritime de facto borderline, violating southward Korea's airspace, and retreated without any incident after about sum of two units minutes, the Defense Ministry said.

in succession Monday, a U.S. Defense Department official said four North Korean fighters intercepted a U Air Force RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft Sunday morning above the Sea of Japan, and fasteninged on the U.S. plane.

The Air Force plane was conducting a routine intelligence mission in international airspace about 240 kilometers most distant North Korea's coast when the fighters approached, the official said.

The U plane broke facing its mission and returned to the Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan.

COPYRIGHT 2003 Kyodo novels International, Inc.

COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group