DIPLOMATIC DISPUTE

[Anchor Lead]

Sources say South Korea's Ministry of Defense notified Japan early this year of the Korean military's new military radar guidelines following a large diplomatic dispute between Korea and Japan over a threatening flight by a Japanese patrol aircraft in the East Sea back in December. The new measures warn Japan that Korean ships may use tracking radars when Japanese military jets approach them within three nautical miles.

[Pkg]

A Japanese patrol aircraft performs a threatening low-altitude flight over the South Korean Navy destroyer Gwanggaeto the Great, which is trying to rescue a drifting North Korean fishing boat. The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force strongly condemned Korea at the time by saying that the Korean ship used a fire-control radar toward the Japanese aircraft. The South Korean military rebutted the claim by saying that no fire-control radar was used, and accused the Japanese patrol aircraft of provoking the incident with its threatening flight. As the dispute continued to escalate, the Korean Ministry of National Defense expressed protest to the military attache to the Japanese embassy in Korea and notified him of the Korean military's new military radar guidelines. Three months later, the Japanese media reported about the meeting. The report said that the Korean government had notified Japan that the Korean military would use fire-control radars when Japanese military aircraft approached Korean ships within about 5.5 kilometers. South Korea's Ministry of Defense has expressed regret that the contents of a confidential meeting had been disclosed in Japan. The ministry also denied the report that radars would be operated immediately when Japanese patrol aircraft approach Korean ships. The ministry said it notified Japan that Korean ships may send a warning to Japanese patrol aircraft before using tracking radars in order to protect the crew and ships when Japanese jets perform threatening low-altitude flights over Korean vessels within three nautical miles, or 5.5 kilometers. Sources say that at recent working-level military talks between the two nations, Japan asked Korea to withdraw its radar guidelines. The Korean Ministry of Defense in response urged Japan to prevent threatening low-altitude flights in the future.