-Caveat Lector- WIRE:Aug. 6, 11:57 p.m. ET Report: North Korea to acquire 40 MiG-21 jets AP News Service SEOUL, South Korea (AP) _ North Korea has agreed to buy 40 MiG-21 fighter jets from a former Soviet republic, a South Korean newspaper reported Saturday. Parts for the planes began arriving in North Korea by air in July, and the Stalinist state is assembling the jets in secret bases, the daily Chosun Ilbo said. The respected newspaper cited a high-ranking government official but did not identify the exporting country. The report came amid reported preparations by North Korea to test a long-range missile despite American warnings to scrap the launch. Chosun said South Korea would look into where impoverished North Korea found money to buy the planes. Hit by five years of floods and drought, as well as ongoing economic mismanagement, North Korea is dependent on outside aid to ease widespread food shortages. But concern has persisted among South Korean officials that North Korea may be diverting some of the aid money for military use. ``We are paying close attention to details of the newspaper report'' on the plane purchase, said Capt. Park Kyun-yoel, a spokesman for the South Korean defense ministry. North Korea's 1.1 million-strong military, the world's fifth largest and the backbone of the communist regime, relies largely on weapons from the former Soviet Union. The two Koreas remain technically at war after the 1950-53 Korean War ended without a peace treaty. Their border is the world's most heavily armed. Some 37,000 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea under a defense treaty with the Seoul government. Copyright 1999 AP News Service. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
