N Korea says more than 170 US spy flights flown in August

Published: Sep 02, 2005
Source: www.indiadaily.com



North Korea alleged today that US spy planes flew more than 170 flights against the communist nation last month. The peak of the claimed espionage came Aug. 22-23, when a total 23 flights were made at the start of joint US-South Korean military exercises, the North's official Korean Central News Agency said, citing an unnamed military source. Those exercises were an alleged reason the North postponed its return to nuclear disarmament talks by two weeks, and the negotiations are now expected to resume during the week of Sept. 12.

North Korea also alleged that American U-2 spy planes made near-daily flights along the inter-Korean border "to conduct frantic aerial photographing and electronic reconnaissance." North Korea releases its alleged spy tally monthly, part of its steady stream of anti-American propaganda. The US military doesn''t comment, although it acknowledges monitoring North Korean military activity.continue..