North Korea, locked in a nuclear impasse with the United States, was involved in a confrontation with the South when one of its fighter jets entered South Korean airspace in a fresh reminder of the tensions awaiting US Secretary of State Colin Powell in the region.
The South Korean Defence Ministry said on today the first air incursion by the communist North since 1983 ended in just two minutes when the intruding MiG-19 was chased back across the maritime border by the South's F-5E fighters.
"We will strongly protest against the intrusion after analysing their intention," the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.
The violation of the Yellow Sea border at a site of two deadly naval clashes since 1999 followed a statement from the North Korean military on Tuesday threatening to abandon the armistice which ended the 1950-53 Korean War.
The Korean People's Army said it would walk away from the 50-year-old truce if economic sanctions were imposed on Pyongyang because of the four-month-old crisis over North Korea's suspected drive to manufacture nuclear weapons.
US disagreements with Asian states over how to end the standoff are expected to dominate Powell's agenda during a four-day trip to Japan, China and South Korea this weekend.
Powell will travel to Tokyo on Saturday, to Beijing on Sunday and to Seoul on Monday to attend Tuesday's inauguration of South Korean President-elect Roh Moo-hyun, the State Department said.
The United States has sought without visible success to persuade regional powers, notably China, to pressure North Korea to abandon its suspected nuclear programme and favours multilateral talks to urge Pyongyang to do so.
North Korea wants a non-aggression pact with the United States and has called for bilateral talks, something other countries in the region, particularly China, are believed to favour but Washington has resisted.