Pyongyang
Four North Korean fighter jets tailed an American spy plane this week, flying as close as 50 feet before banking back down. One of the jets targeted the plane with its weapons radar, but did not fire. The Bush administration said it would protest the “reckless behavior,” which occurred in international airspace over the Sea of Japan. Analysts said the provocative move, like North Korea’s test of a missile last week, was a dangerous escalation in tensions between the two nations. “This is serious stuff,” a U.S. official told The New York Times. “It’s worrisome because they are creating their own drumbeat.” Last week, U.S. intelligence officials said North Korea had restarted a nuclear reactor that could produce enough weapons-grade plutonium to make dozens of nuclear bombs. The North Koreans are demanding direct talks with the U.S., but the Bush administration has so far refused.
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