SEOUL. Aug 7: Impoverished North Korea has agreed to buy 40 Russian MiG-21 fighter jets from a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a South Korean newspaper said today, reports Reuters.

The Chosun Ilbo quoted a government source as saying North Korea has since July been delivering parts of the planes to an army base factory where the jets are being assembled. It did not identify the CIS nation.

Officials at the South Korean defence ministry declined to comment on the report.

The daily said the Seoul government has been closely monitoring the situation as the. North reportedly resumed weapons imports, even though the MiG-21 jets were not a threat to South Korea.

Chosun Ilbo said it was the first time in the 1990s that North Korea has imported foreign fighters. ,

South Korean officials also questioned where the North had raised the money to buy the jets, it said.

The newspaper said North Korea's purchase seemed aimed at replacing some of its approximately 320 old MiG-15 and MiG-17 fighters, or were to be used for training purposes.

The report came as the threat of a North Korean missile launch overshadowed a new round of talks on Thursday by the United States and North Korea seeking a peace settlement to the 1950-53 Korean War.

The two Koreas remain technically at war since their conflict ended in an armed truce rather than a peace agreement.

Concerns over Pyongyang's new Taepodong-2 missile, believed capable of reaching parts of the United States, has grown recently, prompting warnings from Washington, Seoul and Tokyo.