<i>N Korea reports 2,250 US, S. Korea spy flights</i>
North Korea has accused the US and South Korea of carrying out more than 2,000 spy flights over its territory last year.
The official Korean Central News Agency, quoting a military source, said late Dec. 31 the combined US and South Korean espionage flights reached 180 in December to total more than 2,250 this year.
The agency said the aerial reconnaissance peaked when US and South Korean troops launched "military exercises for aggression" in August.
"Keeping pace with the US imperialists' aerial espionage, the South Korean military warmongers let two or three RC-800 and RF-4C fly in the sky... for madcap aerial espionage every day in the year," it said.
Seoul and Washington say their annual drills are purely defensive.
North Korea has routinely reported the alleged spy flights, while US and South Korean military authorities have refused to comment.
North and South Korea remain technically at war after the 1950-1953 Korean conflict ended in an armistice and not a peace treaty.
Currently, about 28,000 US troops support the South's 680,000 against any threat from the North's 1.1 million-member military.
Source: www.defensenews.com
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