U.S. using pressure tactics to sell arms: N.K.

North Korea said Monday that the U.S. military commander in Korea was pulling strings to sell American fighter planes to South Korea.

The (North) Korean Central Broadcasting said it was clear that the U.S. commander was behind the visit to Seoul of a Republican senator who met with South Korean military leaders in January and pressured them to buy a new model of American fighter.

Since the operational control of the South Korean armed forces is still in the hands of the U.S. commander in Seoul, the South Korean military is hardly in a position to reject the ``hard sell,`` the broadcast added.

Ha Tae-Won scooop@donga.com