North Korean plane makes forced landing in China

Beijing, July 22 (IANS) An Air Koryo (North Korea's flag carrier) passenger plane on Friday made a forced landing in China' Shenyang city after catching fire, officials said.

A passenger told Xinhua news agency that smoke appeared in the cabin about 30 minutes after taking off from Pyongyang. The passengers were told not to panic.

Oxygen masks dropped but several passengers had breathing difficulty. The plane landed in Shenyang 10 minutes later. Chinese ground staff said the plane, flying to Beijing, had caught fire.