U.N. agency protests N. Korean threat against commercial jets

By Lee Chi-dong
SEOUL, March 10 (Yonhap) -- The U.N. agency responsible for aviation safety has
decided to send a letter of protest to North Korea for its recent threat against
the safety of South Korean passenger jets, South Korea's foreign ministry said
Tuesday.
The decision marks the first international response to the communist nation's
announcement last Thursday that it could no longer ensure the safety of South
Korean planes flying near its territory. The threat, leveled in protest over an
ongoing joint military exercise between South Korea and the United States,
prompted several airlines to reroute their flight paths around the North's east
coast.
"The ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) decided unanimously to send
the letter in a meeting of the board of directors on Monday," the ministry said.
The letter, to be delivered formally to Pyongyang on Thursday, stresses that the
North's announcement is a "grave threat" to the safety and security of global
civil aviation and travelers, according to the ministry.
It also calls for Pyongyang to abide by ICAO-approved aviation rules and retract
the threat.
South Korea drafted the letter, which was also backed by China and Russia, among
the 32 members of the ICAO board of directors, the ministry pointed out.
South Korea denounced the North's threat in its own statement earlier.
"Threatening civilian airliners' normal operations under international aviation
regulations not only violates international rules but also is an act against
humanity," Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Ho-nyoun said recently.
lcd@yna.co.kr
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