N. Korea warns S. Korean flights over East Sea may not be safe

(ATTN: CHANGES slug, REPLACES quotes with English statement, UPDATES with detail)
SEOUL, March 5 (Yonhap) -- North Korea warned Thursday it can no longer assure
the safety of South Korean passenger planes flying over the East Sea, protesting
an upcoming joint military drill by South Korea and the United States.

"Under the situation ... no one knows what military conflicts will be touched
off," the North's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea said.
North Korea is "compelled to declare that security cannot be guaranteed for South
Korean civil airplanes flying through the territorial air of our side ... and its
vicinity above the East Sea of Korea," the committee said in a statement carried
by the North's Korean Central News Agency in English.
The threat comes as North Korea is preparing to launch what is believed to be a
long-range missile from a base on its east coast.
South Korea and the U.S. are scheduled to begin their annual Key Resolve and Foal
Eagle drill on Monday. The allies have agreed to go ahead with the planned
exercise despite mounting military tension with North Korea.
Pyongyang views the drills as preparations for a preemptive strike, while Seoul
and Washington say they are defense-oriented.
In this year's drill that continues until March 20, the U.S. plans to mobilize a
nuclear-powered carrier and 26,000 troops to test its ability to quickly deploy
forces should North Korea invade, according to the U.S. Forces Korea.
"They are, therefore, so dangerous actions for war that they may develop into an
actual war any moment," the North said.
"The DPRK's military force for self-defence will never allow any slightest
provocation or its sign in the sky, land and sea but deal decisive and
devastating blows at the aggressors," it added.
DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's official
name.
North Korea said last month it is preparing to launch a satellite, which
neighboring states believe may be a cover to flight-test its long-range
Taepodong-2 missile, which in theory can reach the U.S. West Coast.
Regional countries have threatened sanctions against the North, regardless of
whether the object is a missile or a satellite.
hkim@yna.co.kr
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