The United Nations’ International Civil Aviation Organisation called on North Korea last month to retract its threat against South Korean passenger planes. The North said it could not guarantee the safety of South Korean passenger jets flying near its airspace if Seoul continued with its plans to conduct 12 days of joint military drills with the US in March.
Korean Airlines and Asiana rerouted flights away from North Korea as a precaution. A military threat to the normal operations of civil airplanes not only violates international rules but is also an inhumane act that can never be justified,†South Korea’s government said.