Japan Releases Video of S. Korean Radar Lock-On

Tokyo, Dec. 28 (Jiji Press)--Japan's Defense Ministry released on Friday a video it claims shows that a South Korean warship directed its fire-control radar at a Japanese patrol plane in the Sea of Japan last week. The 13-minute video showed that the radar was directed at the Maritime Self-Defense Force P-1 patrol plane twice. Japan made the footage public as evidence to support its claims that the South Korean navy's Gwanggaeto-daewang class destroyer locked its fire-control radar on the Japanese plane. The South Korean side has denied the radar lock-on. On Friday, South Korean Defense Ministry spokeswoman Choi Hyun-soo said that the video cannot be regarded as objective evidence supporting Japan's claims. There is no change in the fact that the South Korean ship did not use a tracking radar against the Japanese plane, she said, reiterating Seoul's position. The Japanese ministry plans to show additional evidence, a senior official said. According to the video, released on the Japanese ministry's website, the fire-control radar was locked on the Japanese plane by the South Korean destroyer, located some 5 kilometers away. Notified by the crew of the plane that the radar contact had been made, the captain instructed the crew to confirm whether the destroyer's weapons were directed at the plane. The aircraft later took evacuation steps. Three minutes later, the plane detected a second radar contact from the destroyer, located some 8 kilometers away at the time. In English-language radio messages to the destroyer, the aircraft stated three times: "We observed that your FC (fire-control) antenna is directed to us. What is the purpose of your action?" There were no responses from the South Korean side. Also in the released video, the crew was surprised at the strength of radio waves from the destroyer, talking about the "huge sound." In another scene, the crew said that a naval gun was not facing toward the plane. Some parts of the video that showed the capabilities of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces were deleted, while explanatory notes were added to help viewers better understand what happened in the incident. According to the Japanese ministry, the lock-on occurred above waters in the Japanese exclusive economic zone off the Noto Peninsula in central Japan on Dec. 20. Japan has lodged a strong protest with South Korea over the incident, saying that the dangerous action could have resulted in a contingency situation. But the South Korean side has countered that the destroyer used its radar to search a North Korean ship in distress, but it did not direct the fire-control radar at the Japanese aircraft. In the released video, a North Korean ship was caught in visual range of the destroyer. Working-level defense officials of the two countries held talks on Thursday to discuss the issue but failed to narrow their differences. END