North Korean MiG-19 fighter jet crash
A file photo of two South Korean soldiers guarding a North Korean MiG-19 fighter at Suwon airbase after a North Korean pilot defected with the plane to South Korea Reuters

A North Korean MiG-19 fighter jet has crashed during training manoeuvres possibly due to pilot error or because of the poor condition of the aircraft, reports from South Korea suggest.

The crash had taken place near North Korea's Taetan Air Base in South Hwanghae province when Korean People's Army Air and Anti-Air Force (KPAF) was holding its training exercises, South Korean military officials, cited by Seoul's YTN, say.

All the aircraft in the country are believed to have been grounded and suspended from flying in North Korea airspace following the incident.

Pyongyang aviation authorities are thought to be looking into the event and investigating the status of the jets as well.

The MiG-19s, initially developed by Russia in 1952, have been in operation in North Korea for the last four decades. North Korea is one of the few nations which still operate the obsolete versions of MiG-17 and MiG-19.

A MiG-17 had crashed in May this year in a similar exercise.

North Korean pilots are poorly trained due to the limited resources available to fly the jets.

The common type of fighter jet which North Korea possesses is MiG-21. The isolated nation is estimated to have about 150 of them.

The KPAF is the second-largest arm of the North Korean army with more than 100,000 troops.

South Korea