KANGGYE, NORTH KOREA — Safety concerns have been raised over North Korea's aggressive missile testing program, after the most recent launch came dangerously close to a passenger plane.
CNN reports that on July 28, an Air France flight to Paris took off from Tokyo carrying more than 300 passengers.
Forty-five minutes later, North Korea test-launched an intercontinental ballistic missile from Jagang Province.
The missile climbed more than 2,000 miles before returning back to Earth. It landed in the Sea of Japan just five to 10 minutes after the Air France flight passed through the same area.
In response to the incident, Air France put out a statement claiming North Korean test zones don't interfere with their flight paths, adding that they analyze potentially dangerous flyover zones. But experts say global aviation systems may not be able to warn airliners if a missile was in its flight path, much less detect it, according to CBS.
Adjusting commercial flight paths might be one way of addressing the North Korean safety risk, but it will be both expensive and difficult.
