U.S.-S. Korea military drills start, tension up in Sea of Japan+

SEOUL, March 9 Kyodo -
Tension is rising on the Sea of Japan as the United States and South Korea
kicked off joint military exercises on Monday amid suspicion that North Korea
is preparing to test-fire a long-range missile under the guise of a satellite
or launch short-range missiles from a site on its eastern coast.

North Korea has threatened ''war'' against countries that attempt to shoot down
its satellite and has shut down its only military hotline with the South in
protest against the U.S.-South Korean drills.
The North Korean move stranded South Koreans from crossing the land border and
commuting to the North Korean industrial zone in the border city of Kaesong.
In retaliation against the U.S.-South Korean drills, the North has also warned
that it cannot guarantee the safety of civilian aircraft flying over the
airspace under its control over the Sea of Japan, or the East Sea as it is
known in Korea.
North Korea has toughened its stance against the South since last December,
when Pyongyang curbed overland travels across the heavily armed
''demilitarized'' zone.
In January, North Korea declared void the northern delimitation line on the
Yellow Sea, which serves as the maritime boundary with South Korea.
The U.S.-South Korean drills, which last until March 20, not only involve tens
of thousands of U.S. and South Korean ground troops but also a U.S.
nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and U.S. Aegis warships equipped with missile
defense systems.
While South Korean media reports suggested Monday that North Korea's test
launch is widely believed to be a long-range missile, there is speculation that
the U.S. military has geared up to cope with the launch of a North Korean
missile that could reach Alaska.
The U.S. military has stressed that the military drills in South Korea are not
related to heightened tension in the Korean Peninsula, and North Korea has
insisted that the launch of a satellite is a sovereign right and warned it
would not tolerate the slightest provocation.
In March 2003, North Korea dispatched four jet fighters to tailgate a U.S.
RC135S spy plane over the Sea of Japan. The North Korean jets flew close to the
U.S. military aircraft, which had capabilities to observe ballistic missiles.
After North Korea issued the warning to civilian aircraft, South Korean and
other airliners have diverted their flights bound for North America and Russia.
Instead of flying over the airspace under North Korean control, these civilian
aircraft have reportedly used airspace under Japanese or Chinese control.
There are reports that container and other cargo ships that used to sail near
the North Korean coast have also stayed away.
General officers from North Korea and the U.N. Command in South Korea, which is
headed by the U.S. armed forces commander in South Korea, met in the truce
village of Panmunjeon on Feb. 2 and 6.
Even though British and South Korean military officers formed part of the U.N.
Command delegation, the North Korean official media referred to the event as a
meeting between ''(North) Korean and American general officers.''
During the meeting, the North Koreans demanded that the United States call off
the joint military drills with South Korea, and called the move a stepping
stone to test whether the new U.S. administration under President Barack Obama
would repeat the ''hostile'' U.S. policies under former President George W.
Bush.
Observers of North Korea have interpreted these moves as signals to the United
States as the Obama foreign policy team draws up the U.S. policy toward North
Korea.
==Kyodo