New York: North Korean fighter jets that intercepted an unarmed US spy plane over the Sea of Japan last weekend were trying to force the aircraft to land in the Stalinist state and take its crew hostage, a senior American Defence official claimed.

"One of the four North Korean MiGs came within 50 feet of the American plane, an Air Force RC-135S Cobra Ball aircraft, and the pilot made internationally recognised hand signals to the American flight crew to follow him, presumably back to his home base," the unnamed official told 'The New York Times'.

He said the American crew-members ignored the gesture commands, "aborted" the surveillance mission in international airspace about 240 km off the North Korean coast, and returned safely to their home base at Kadena air base in Japan.

The official, 'The Times' said, offered no explanation as to why North Korean fighters did not take further action once the US plane aborted its mission and turned back to its base.

The new details of the incident emerged during the time when North Korea declared a 3-day maritime exclusion zone in Sea of Japan, signalling its intention to test-fire a missile.

Pentagon officials said it was virtually the same area in which North Korea tested an anti-ship missile on February 25.

Details about the intercept, which came to light after military officials interviewed the flight crew, suggest that more than 15 Americans aboard faced "greater peril" than was previously known, 'the Times' said.

Ignoring a fighter pilot's order to land, even in international airspace, could have led to the plane's downing, military officials said. "Clearly, it appears their intention was to divert the aircraft to North Korea, and take it hostage," the officials were quoted as saying.

PTI