THE TIMES OF INDIA

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2003

US to deploy drones near N Korea

AP

SEOUL, South Korea: The US military in South Korea said Tuesday it will
begin flying its newest unmanned spy planes -- or drones -- near the border
with North Korea this week.

The Shadow 200 Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicles will help the US military
to monitor North Korean military activities along the 2.5-mile (4-kilometre)
wide, 155-mile (249-kilometre) long Demilitarised Zone between the two
Koreas.

The US military said in June that it planned to pull US troops further away
from the DMZ, the world's most heavily armed border, but remained committed
to defend South Korea against possible North Korean provocations.

Tension on the Korean Peninsula remains high over the communist North's
suspected development of nuclear weapons. North Korea often accuses the
United States of infiltrating its airspace with spy planes, a claim the US
military denies.

The Shadow spy planes are designed to track enemy movements and assess
battle damage. The planes were used in the US-led war against Iraq.

"This system gives us a marked advantage over the enemy," said Captain
Samuel Hall of the US Second Infantry Division. "With the Shadow, we now
have the ability to see first, understand first and finish decisively."

The US military will begin flying the vehicles on Friday from a base north
of Seoul.

Shadow planes have a 4-metre (13-foot) wingspan. They fly at an altitude of
between 10,000 feet (3,048 metres) and 14,000 feet (4,267 metres) and can
carry up to 60 pounds (27 kilograms) of surveillance equipment.

Washington keeps 37,000 American troops in South Korea, a legacy of the
1950-53 Korean War.

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