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https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-paci ... 022-11-04/
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-paci ... 022-11-04/November 4, 20229:30 AM GMT+1
South Korea scrambles jets after detecting 180 North Korean warplanes north of border
SEOUL, Nov 4- South Korea's military said it scrambled fighter jets
after detecting about 180 North Korean military flights
north of the two countries' border over four hours on Friday.
The North Korean aircraft flew north of the so-called tactical action line,
north of the Military Demarcation Line between the two Koreas, South Korea's military said in a statement.
The virtual line is used as a basis for South Korean air defence operations, a South Korean official said.
South Korea scrambled 80 aircraft, including, F-35A stealth fighters, in response.
About 240 aircraft participating in the Vigilant Storm exercises with the United States continued the drills, the military said.
A flight of 10 North Korean warplanes made similar manoeuvres last month, prompting South Korea to scramble jets.
https://www.voanews.com/a/skorea-scramb ... 19700.html
https://www.voanews.com/a/skorea-scramb ... 19700.htmlNorth Korea is upset at the U.S.-South Korea exercises, which have been expanded in response to recent North Korean weapons tests and other threats.
Pyongyang views the drills as preparations to invade and often uses them as an occasion to ramp up tensions,
creating a sense of crisis on the Korean Peninsula.
That dynamic could help explain North Korea’s decision to deploy so many aircraft Friday
– a move that could reveal sensitive information
about how North Korea’s air force functions under extraordinary conditions,
says Daniel Pinkston, a Seoul-based international relations professor at Troy University.
“But the air power balance is so unfavorable to them,
that maybe they don't care about revealing info about this type of activity,”
said Pinkston, who has written about North Korea’s air force.
By some estimates, North Korea’s military has between 600-700 aircraft,
but most are very old and not thought to be well-maintained, due to cost factors.
“The pilots get so little flight training that this exercise accomplishes some flight training objectives,” Pinkston told VOA.
Last month, North Korea also sent about 10 warplanes so close to the border
that it triggered an automatic operational response by South Korea’s air force.
It’s not clear how close the North Korean planes got to the inter-Korean border Friday.
But Seoul officials said the aircraft did not cross the Tactical Action Line, or TAL.
The TAL is a boundary north of the border that was set by the South Korean military to give sufficient time to respond to North Korean provocations.