Unmanned U.S. spy plane crashes near inter-Korean border

An unmanned US military spy plane used to monitor North Korean troop movements has crashed near the heavily fortified inter-Korean border, US officials said on August 24. The Shadow 200 went down on August 23, at night, near the Camp Casey US army base at Dongducheon, 18 kilometres (11 miles) south of the Demilitarised Zone which bisects the peninsula, a US military spokesman said. "The drone crashed in an unpopulated area that is densely vegetated and mountainous, causing no human losses," he told AFP. Its mission is to monitor North Korean troop movements while flying along the border, he said, adding that it never crosses the frontier. The drone, controlled from the ground, suffered "probable mechanical engine failures" shortly after take-off, the US military said in a statement. "This type of small tactical drone is routinely flown in Korea and in dozens of countries around the world to support a tactical level of training," it said.