Jet intercept by North Korea ‘reckless’: US

Bush told mediapersons on Monday that if diplomatic efforts did not work, ‘‘they’ll have to work militarily.’’ He said: ‘‘(The) military option is our last choice. Options are on the table, but I believe we can deal with this diplomatically. I truly do.’’

Since the US does not have diplomatic relations with North Korea, Washington was looking at ways to lodge a formal protest with Pyongyang over the weekend incident.

Four North Korean fighters intercepted a US Air Force RC-135 reconnaissance plane in international airspace over the Sea of Japan on Sunday and came within 50 feet of the big US jet while shadowing it, the Pentagon said.

Two advanced MiG-29 fighters and two others believed to be MiG-23s intercepted the sophisticated four-engine RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft 240 km off the coast of North Korea and shadowed the American jet for about 20 minutes, said Navy Lieutenant-Commander Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman.

The tension with North Korea is complicating Washington’s difficult diplomatic task of drawing international support for possible military action against Iraq to ensure the elimination of its weapons of mass destruction.

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said the US was discussing how to respond to the surveillance plane interception with South Korea and other allies.

‘‘We are consulting on how this incident will be protested and discussing with them the most appropriate way to lodge it. This kind of reckless behaviour by North Korea will only lead to it’s further international isolation,’’ he said. One avenue was through North Korea’s mission at the UN in New York.

The US believes North Korea is ramping up pressure on Washington for direct talks that the Communist state hopes would lead to renewed assistance and a non-aggression pact. Washington says it will only hold talks with North Korea about how Pyongyang will dismantle its nuclear weapons programme and wants South Korea, Japan and China to exert diplomatic pressure on North Korea.