INCHEON, South Korea, June 18 (UPI) -- Two South Korean troops fired about 100 rounds at a civilian jetliner Friday, mistaking it for a North Korean military aircraft, Yonhap News Agency reported.
The South Korean Marine Corps guards who opened fire with their K-2 assault rifles inflicted no damage on the Asiana Airlines passenger plane, a military source told the news agency. The jetliner was out of range of the soldiers' weapons, the source said.
The flight was carrying about 119 passenger and crew members from China when it came under attack as it descended toward Incheon International Airport, other sources told Yonhap.
"When the plane, which the guards said they had never seen before, was approaching, the guards misidentified it as a plane from the North Korean air force and shot at it," the military source said.
Asiana Airlines disputed the soldiers' contention that the aircraft was off the normal route for civilian planes.
"We checked yesterday through the air force and the airport control center to make sure there were no abnormalities such as being off course," a company official said.
Yonhap said the marine corps said it will beef up its training of guards in the identification of civilian aircraft.
