Article Posted on : - Mar 06, 2009

File image of a Korea Air aircraft. Boeing image

SEOUL (BNS): South Korea's unification ministry asked North Korea to retract its threats against civilian air traffic, after the latter said it could not guarantee security for flights near its territory.

In a statement released to the media, the ministry said that the government urges North Korea to immediately withdraw military threats against civilian aircraft. “A military threat to the normal operations of civil airplanes not only violates international rules but is also an inhumane act that can never be justified,” the statement said.

The ministry said that the country’s government was taking steps to secure the safety of civilian flights. South Korean airliners- Korean Air and Asiana - have already re-routed flights clear of North Korean airspace following the warning on Thursday.

Earlier, the North said that it could not ensure the safety of South Korean flights over the Sea of Japan because a 12-day joint US-South Korean military exercise set to begin on Monday could set off a war.

In a statement, the North said that no one knows what military conflicts will be touched off by the reckless war exercises south of the border.

The North stated that it could not guarantee security for South Korean civilian aircraft using North Korean airspace and its vicinity above the Sea of Japan while the military exercises were under way.