N. Korean MiGs Intercepted U.S. Plane

Four North Korean MiGs intercepted a U.S. reconnaissance plane over the Sea of Japan this weekend, one of them coming within 50 feet of the American aircraft, reports CBS News National Security Correspondent David Martin.

U.S. officials say the RC-135S, which goes by the code name Cobra Ball, was more than 100 miles off the coast of North Korea, well into international air space, and at the outer range of the North Korean jets, which apparently had been positioned at a coastal airfield for the specific purpose of intercepting the American plane.

Officials say the MiGs flew alongside the American plane for 20 minutes and that the ground controller for the North Korean jets ordered the pilots to arm their air-to-air missiles but not to fire. One of the MiGs locked on to the American plane with his fire control radar; another rocked his wings as if ordering the RC-135 to follow him, but the American aircraft continued on its route and the MiGs, probably low on fuel, broke off.

U.S. officials are certain that the incident, which occurred on Sunday, was not a case of hot-dogging by North Korean pilots but a well-planned operation ordered by North Korean leaders.

The last time the North Koreans intercepted a U.S. spy plane was 1969, when they shot down a Navy EC-121, killing all 31 people aboard.

The RC-135 planes are modified Boeing 707s loaded with electronic receivers and feature large circular windows in the fuselage for the photography of foreign ballistic-missile tests at long range. The intelligence equipment aboard includes multiple infrared telescopes.

U.S. officials are now considering providing armed fighter escorts for all future reconnaissance missions off North Korea. The purpose of the missions is to monitor North Korean missile tests and to keep track of activity at the nuclear complex where the North recently started up a reactor that can produce plutonium for nuclear weapons.

The Bush administration has insisted that the building crisis caused by the startup of North Korea's nuclear program can be handled by diplomacy, but increasingly it is edging into a military confrontation.

U.S. officials refused to categorize Sunday's incident as a hostile act right now.

Even before Sunday's intercept, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld had approved a major buildup of U.S. forces in range of North Korea, ordering 24 long-range bombers to the Pacific island of Guam.

The U.S. Air Force regularly flies U-2 spy plane missions to monitor North Korea's military, including its nuclear facilities.

On Monday, North Korea called its confrontation with the United States "extremely acute" and asserted it had the right to develop and deploy missiles for self-defense.

North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency accused the U.S. and Japan, which is within range of North Korean missiles, of using the alleged threat from North Korea as a pretext to plot war against the communist country.

North Korea said its missiles "can never be a threat to other countries," and that Washington and Tokyo were using the North's missile program as an excuse to plan missile defense systems.

Last week, the North launched an anti-ship missile into the sea off its east coast on the eve of the inauguration of South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun.

North Korea also criticized U.S.-South Korean military exercises scheduled to begin Tuesday, saying they were a preparation for war. The North routinely makes such accusations whenever military drills are held in the South, but the rhetoric has been more bellicose recently because of tension over the North's nuclear development.