EARLY YESTERDAY morning, South Korean marines spotted a North Korean military jet heading for Seoul – or, at least, they thought they did.

The military jet turned out to be a South Korean civilian plane with around 119 passengers on board.

Fortunately, when marines opened fire the plane was out of range and landed safely at Seoul’s Incheon International Airport, according to the BBC.

The incident was reported by the Yonhap news agency, but South Korean defence and civil aviation officials could not be reached for comment. The marines had fired small arms – K-2 rifles – at the plane for about ten minutes.

Relations between North and South Korea have been particularly tense in the wake of two attacks in which 50 South Koreans were killed last year.

More recently, the North has demanded the repatriation of nine people who landed on a South Korean island last weekend on small boats. It has also threatened retaliation after it Seoul said its military used images of Pyongyan’s ruling family for target practice.

- Additional reporting by the AP