U.S. urges N. Korea to stop making threats to South Korean civil flights

(ATTN: UPDATES with more details, background throughout)
By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, March 5 (Yonhap) -- The United States decried North Korea's threat to
South Korean civilian airplanes flying near its airspace Thursday, and urged the
North to return to the six-party talks on ending North Korea's nuclear weapons
programs.

"They are distinctly unhelpful," State Department deputy spokesman Gordon Duguid
said. "The North Koreans should be working on their commitments to the six-party
talks rather than making statements that are threatening to peaceful aviation."
The spokesman was talking about North Korea's warning earlier in the day that it
cannot guarantee the safety of South Korean civil flights over the North's
airspace. The North also denounced the upcoming annual joint military drills
between South Korea and the U.S. as preparations for an invasion of the reclusive
communist state.
The North said the joint military exercises may lead to a nuclear war, although
South Korea and the U.S. said the exercises are purely for defensive purposes and
they have no intention of invading the North.
Geoff Morrell, Pentagon spokesman, told a daily news briefing: "I understand we
do have exercises coming up, I think, later in the month. These are annual
exercises between the Republic of Korea and U.S. forces in Korea, the Key Resolve
and the Foal Eagle exercises in particular."
He added, "I'm not aware of any component of the exercise which would necessitate
flying either Korean or U.S. aircraft into North Korean airspace."
The North's warning over the safety of South Korean flights comes amid reports
that Pyongyang is about to shoot a communications satellite into orbit, a move
seen by South Korea and the U.S. as a cover for test launching a ballistic
missile capable of reaching U.S. territory.
Some experts say the warning might be a signal to clear the North's airspace in
preparation for an imminent rocket launch.
Stephen Bosworth, U.S. special envoy for North Korea, met with Japanese chief
nuclear envoy Akitaka Saiki in Tokyo earlier in the day to urge the North to
refrain from launching a missile or satellite, saying either will be in violation
of a United Nations resolution banning all ballistic missile activities by the
North.
Bosworth will fly to Seoul Saturday to meet with South Korean and Russian
officials on getting the stalled six-party talks back on track. Bosworth also
visited Beijing earlier this week to solidify efforts for an early resumption of
the multilateral talks, deadlocked in December over North Korea's refusal to
agree to a verification regime for its nuclear facilities.
The Pentagon spokesman also said that general-level officials from North Korea
and the U.S.-led United Nations command will get together Friday "to discuss
issues of mutual trust and tension reduction."
"This would be the 16th such general officer talks, but the first or the one that
took place on Monday was the first held at this level since 2002," the spokesman
said, referring to a similar meeting held earlier this week.
"So there is a dialogue going on, first in a number of years, that we hope will
go a long way towards establishing an enhanced trust between these two militaries
on opposite sides of what has been a contested border over the years," he said.
The U.N. Command is overseeing the fragile armistice that ended the 1950-53
Korean War, in which U.S. troops fought for South Korea against North Korean
troops reinforced by their communist ally, China.
The establishment of a permanent peace regime to replace the armistice is one of
benefits North Korea can get under a six-party deal, along with massive economic
aid and diplomatic recognition by Washington and Tokyo. North Korea is supposed
to denuclearize itself in return.
hdh@yna.co.kr
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