TURKEY CONFIRMS AIR KORYO OVERFLIGHT REQUESTED AND

S E C R E T ANKARA 000418 SIPDIS INFO AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT IMMEDIATE AMEMBASSY BEIJING IMMEDIATE AMEMBASSY BISHKEK IMMEDIATE AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS IMMEDIATE AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE IMMEDIATE AMEMBASSY KABUL IMMEDIATE AMEMBASSY TASHKENT IMMEDIATE SIPDIS ISN/CPI FOR ZARTMAN; EUR/PRA FOR FRIEDT; EUR/SE FOR MALIK; EAP/CM FOR HIGGINS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/03/2038 TAGS: PREL PARM ETTC EAIR TU IR KN SUBJECT: TURKEY CONFIRMS AIR KORYO OVERFLIGHT REQUESTED AND SETS CONDITIONS REF: A. SECSTATE 13637 ¶B. ANKARA 263 Classified By: Pol-Mil Counselor Carl Siebentritt, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). (S) MFA Department Head for Aviation Hamit Olcay confirmed on March 3 that the GOT received on February 29 an overflight clearance request for an Air Koryo flight scheduled for March 11 from Pyongyang to Damascus, with a stop in Tehran (ref a). Olcay further confirmed that Turkey has requested the aircraft land for inspection as a condition for granting overflight clearance, as the MFA had previously indicated (ref b). The GOT has not received a response from Air Koryo as to whether the flight will still take place. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turk ey WILSON