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North Korea claims 'invincible' airpower after aircraft crash
North Korea boasted of its "invincible" air power on Thursday amid reports that one of its jet fighters crashed in China, killing the pilot.The North's air force has grown to be an "invincible revolutionary armed force" since it was founded in 1947, the official Korean Central News Agency said. North Korean pilots "fully demonstrated their combat capability" during the 1950-53 Korean War, it said. The North has been silent on the reported crash of its aircraft Tuesday in Liaoning province's Fushun County. China's Xinhua news agency said the plane "might be" a North Korean jet, citing unnamed Chinese government sources. "The aircraft crashed into a civilian makeshift house, leaving no Chinese dead or injured. The pilot died on the spot," Xinhua said, adding Beijing was "communicating" with Pyongyang on the incident. Photos that appeared to show the crash site, posted on the Internet, showed what looked like a fighter plane with the North Korean flag painted on the body of the jet. The South's military said that the plane was more likely a MiG-21, citing radar detection by its air force of the aircraft leaving a military airbase in the North Korean city of Sinuiju, near the border with China. The South's Yonhap news agency, citing intelligence sources, said Wednesday that the pilot of the plane - possibly a Soviet-era MiG-15 - may have lost his way while attempting to fly to Russia to escape from North Korea. Posted by: Fred 2010-08-20 |
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