U.S. Spy Plane Crashes In S. Korea
An American U-2 spy plane crashed Sunday in South Korea, injuring three people on the ground. The pilot ejected safely.
"A U-2 reconnaissance plane of the U.S. military has crashed," a defense ministry spokesman said on condition of anonymity. "The pilot ejected safely before the crash."
The official provided no further details.
The jet crashed in Hwasung, about 31 miles south of Seoul, the spokesman said.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency said three people on the ground were injured by the crash, which caused fires at a house and auto repair shop.
"When I returned after a short break, my shop was half broken down and on fire, and the military plane was wrecked beyond recognition," repair shop owner Lee Jae-kwon told Yonhap.
South Korea's national KBS-TV said the plane was believed to have taken off from a U.S. Air Force base in Osan, near the crash site.
A U.S. military spokeswoman, Lee Ferguson, could not immediately confirm the report.
The U-2 operates at an altitude of more than 70,000 feet, beyond the range of most surface-to-air missiles. North Korea frequently complains about U.S. surveillance of the communist country.
The crash came amid rising tension on the Korean Peninsula as the United States and its allies try to pressure North Korea to abandon its suspected nuclear weapons program.
The United States keeps about 37,000 troops in South Korea, which shares the world's most heavily militarized border with North Korea.
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