The southeastern part of the Strait of Tartary was the site of one of the tensest incidents of the Cold War , when on September 1 , 1983 , Korean Air Lines Flight 007 , carrying 269 people including a sitting U.S. congressman , Larry McDonald , strayed into the Soviet air space and was attacked by a Soviet Su-15 interceptor just west of Sakhalin Island . The plane came down on the waters off the strait 's only land mass , Moneron Island . An intensive naval search by the U.S. with assistance of Japanese and Korean vessels was carried on in a area of the strait just north of Moneron Island ( see " Search for KAL 007 in International Waters " of Korean Air Lines Flight 007 )
Korean Air Lines Flight 007
Korean Air Lines Flight 007
Strait of Tartary