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To: PaulM who wrote (31334)	4/8/1999 12:58:00 AM
From: Alex	Respond to of 116786

4 MIG-21s neared japanese airspace The warplanes flew dangerously close to Japan at the height of last month's crisis on the high seas, the Defense Agency says. Asahi Shimbun Four warplanes believed to be from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) were detected approaching Japan's air defense zone last month, prompting the Air Self-Defense Force (ASDF) to scramble two F-15 fighter jets, Defense Agency sources disclosed Tuesday. The ASDF fighters, each carrying missiles and ammunition, left the Komatsu base in Ishikawa Prefecture around 8 a.m. on March 24, shortly after two suspicious vessels, chased by Maritime Self-Defense Force ships, crossed the Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). Sources said the four suspected North Korean fighter aircraft were MiG-21s, which were discovered by an E-2C early warning aircraft after the two suspicious ships had already crossed the ADIZ. The suspicious aircraft, however, did not not fly into the zone. The F-15 fighters could have engaged the aircraft if they had flown into the ADIZ, the sources said. The fighters' purpose remains unknown, but Defense Agency officials suspected they were trying either to protect the two mysterious vessels or to test Japan's air defense posture, the sources said. The suspicious ships were originally detected by agency radar around 10 p.m. on March 21 after some telegraphic codes were sent by the vessels in the Sea of Japan off Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture, according to Defense Agency sources. The following day, a P-3C patrol plane left the Hachinohe base in Aomori Prefecture on a mission to monitor the suspicious ships. Flying at a low altitude the plane was hit by lightning. However, none of the crew was injured and the aircraft sustained no damage. Although it could have continued its monitoring mission, the plane was ordered back to the base for an inspection, the sources said. Japan suspects the ships were sent from Pyongyang on a spy mission. North Korea, however, has denied any involvement in the incident. asahi.com