Regrets on U.S. Air Intrusion

North Korea reported on Sunday that the United States had offered its regrets after two of its military aircraft crossed the Military Demarcation Line and entered the North's airspace.

The North warned that it will keep a ?close watch" on such incidents.

Referring to the American-led UN Command as the "U.S. military," the Pyongyang Radio reported that U.S. and North Korean military officers met on Saturday at the border village of Panmunjom. At the meeting, the UN command declared that the two aircraft mistakenly flew into North Korean air space on Thursday.

During the talks, the state-run media stated, its officials criticized the intrusions as an act aimed at "breaking up North-South relations and North Korea-United States relations."

The incident occurred a day after U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright ended a two-day visit to North Korea.

The UN command proposed to the North that the two sides hold an investigation and establish a military hotline to improve communications and reduce tension along the Demilitarized Zone separating North and South Korea. The North has not responded to the offer.

The United States and South Korea began its joint military exercise, Foal Eagle, on Wednesday. The 10-day exercise is one of the three biggest joint training exercises held annually and North Korea often charges that the exercise is a prelude to attack the communist state.

The United States led UN forces that fought against North Korea on South Korea's side in the 1950-53 Korean War. Some 37,000 U.S. troops are still stationed in South Korea.

by Kim Jung-wook