Ungangly U2 News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Airbase in south korea for a closer look at the front line of american defense and intelligence gathering on the peninsula. >> reporter: a u2 spy plane taxiward keoff as dawn breaks over the korean peninsula this morning. its pilot fitted in a nasa-like pressure suit to withstand the eight-hour-long mission at soaring altitudes that will take him near the edge of space. with north korea's unsettling ambitions and rhetoric rising, demand for these intelligence missions is high. >> it is a constant tempo. we're very busy all the time. in the last ten years we've been the busiest we've ever been ...

>> reporter: the american commanders here say their prime mission remains deterrence but they are ready to act, if necessary. >> if north korea launched a rocket, and if we did not know whether it was a satellite or a warhead on top, we, united states, would likely try to shoot it down. in response, north korea will try a number of things, in part by sending artillery fire into south korea. right away you have a major convention ar war on our hands. >> reporter: the while the posture of the 28,000-plus american military personnel has not outwardly changed, the level of tension certainly has. >...