The new commander of the Russian air force, General Anatoliy Kornukov, has revealed that he was the officer who gave the order to shoot down a South Korean airliner in 1983.

Speaking on Russian NTV television, the general said he felt he had made a correct decision.

He said he remained convinced the Boeing 747, which had strayed off course and was flying over sensitive Soviet military installations, had been part of a hostile mission.

The plane was shotdown over Sakhalin island in the far east of the former Soviet Union.

There were no survivors among the more than two-hundred people on board.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service
 

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