ABSTRACT
The journey of Korean Air Lines (KAL) flight 007 had ended far short of its intended destination at Seoul’s Kimpo Airport, but its saga had only begun. The Soviets had already shown their sensitivity to violations of their airspace by Korean Air, having forced down a flight from Paris to Seoul that had strayed over the Soviet Union in April 1978. Though the controversy over the downing of KAL 007 continued for some time, the Soviet’s news conference served a cathartic purpose—it got a credible account supporting their actions into the sphere of world opinion, and it reduced the pressure that had been mounting on the government for more than a week. In effect, the apparent success (from the Soviet perspective) of the KAL 007 news conference in disseminating the Soviet view of the event and disposing of the problems it created has led to a new style of competition among the major powers.
