Narrative:

I was informed via ACARS that dispatch needed me to make a satcom call about flight route in south korea. Upon making the call I was asked by the duty officer about penetrating north korean airspace. I told him that we flew according to the flight plan and legal release and we had overflight clearance on our flight release that said 'overfly permits: korea: hang kong jung bo kwa - xx' (note: other russian overfly permission was also on flight release). We flew as released over south korea; north korea; russia; and into us airspace. We flew our route according to the flight plan and the ATC clearance received. Our route of flight took us over kansu; tonin and nular at FL310. We were in contact with north korean controllers prior to entering and throughout the period flown in north korean airspace. North korean controllers asked us for our estimated times at tonin and nular; aircraft registration number; squawk and flight level. I was informed by the duty officer that the dispatch personnel handling my flight was 'in training' and did not get the required 'overfly permits'/authorizations; even though the flight release stated the above regarding 'overfly permits'/authorizations. The duty officer stated that he believed that a 'human error' occurred during a training event. He also stated that I had a legal release and flew according to the release and flight plan.make certain that 'overfly permits' state the appropriate korea; south korea or north korea. Make certain that 'overfly permits' state the appropriate country if there is a north or south; east or west. Double check that the appropriate overfly permits are obtained prior to release. What does it mean when the flight release states 'overfly permits: korea: hang hong jung bo kwa - xx'? Is this authorization to overfly? Perhaps 'overfly permits' should state 'overfly authorizations'?

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An Air Carrier crew was notified during flight that they had passed through North Korean airspace without proper diplomatic clearance because a Dispatch training error had occurred.

Narrative: I was informed via ACARS that Dispatch needed me to make a SATCOM Call about flight route in South Korea. Upon making the call I was asked by the Duty Officer about penetrating North Korean Airspace. I told him that we flew according to the flight plan and legal release and we had Overflight Clearance on our Flight Release that said 'Overfly Permits: Korea: Hang Kong Jung Bo KWA - XX' (Note: Other Russian overfly permission was also on Flight Release). We flew as released over South Korea; North Korea; Russia; and into US Airspace. We flew our route according to the flight plan and the ATC clearance received. Our route of flight took us over KANSU; TONIN and NULAR at FL310. We were in contact with North Korean controllers prior to entering and throughout the period flown in North Korean airspace. North Korean controllers asked us for our estimated times at TONIN and NULAR; aircraft registration number; squawk and flight level. I was informed by the Duty Officer that the Dispatch personnel handling my flight was 'in training' and did not get the required 'Overfly Permits'/authorizations; even though the Flight Release stated the above regarding 'Overfly Permits'/authorizations. The Duty Officer stated that he believed that a 'human error' occurred during a training event. He also stated that I had a legal release and flew according to the release and flight plan.Make certain that 'Overfly Permits' state the appropriate Korea; SOUTH Korea or North Korea. Make certain that 'Overfly Permits' state the appropriate country if there is a North or South; East or West. Double check that the appropriate Overfly Permits are obtained prior to release. What does it mean when the flight release states 'Overfly Permits: Korea: HANG HONG JUNG BO KWA - XX'? Is this authorization to overfly? Perhaps 'OVERFLY PERMITS' should state 'Overfly Authorizations'?

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.