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A Chinese passenger jet with more than 200 people on board flew through the trajectory
of a North Korean rocket that had been fired minutes earlier, the South Korean government
said. North Korea fired the rocket Tuesday at 4:17
p.m. without giving any navigational warning, Kim Min-Seok, a spokesman for the South Korean
Defense Ministry, said Wednesday. Seven minutes later, a China Southern Airlines
plane carrying 220 passengers from Japan's Narita airport to Shenyang in China passed
through the rocket's trajectory, he said. "It was a very dangerous situation," Kim said
during a news briefing. "North Korea's provocative actions violate the international navigation
laws and pose a great threat to the safety of civilians."
South Korea has informed Chinese authorities about what happened, the Defense Ministry
said. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, Qin
Gang, said Thursday that the plane flew through North Korean airspace "normally on that day
without incident." "When relevant countries conduct military
training or exercises, they should abide by international custom to take measures that
would ensure the safety of civil aircraft or ships passing through their airspace or
territorial water," Qin said.