▲ The condition of a North Korean military outpost. January 8, 2023. / Photo = Yonhap News
It was confirmed on the 6th that a two meter balloon flew from North Korea into South Korean airspace, drifted for several hours, and finally escaped into the East Sea. The South Korean military is said to have closely tracked the position of the North Korean balloon from an early stage in the wake of the recent controversy over a Chinese reconnaissance balloon violating US airspace. A South Korean military official said, “It was judged to be a North Korean meteorological balloon that had flown south due to an air current, which was not intended for infiltration.
South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff.
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▲ The condition of a North Korean military outpost. January 8, 2023. / Photo = Yonhap News
It was confirmed on the 6th that a two meter balloon flew from North Korea into South Korean airspace, drifted for several hours, and finally escaped into the East Sea. The South Korean military is said to have closely tracked the position of the North Korean balloon from an early stage in the wake of the recent controversy over a Chinese reconnaissance balloon violating US airspace. A South Korean military official said, “It was judged to be a North Korean meteorological balloon that had flown south due to an air current, which was not intended for infiltration.
According to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Military Staff (Josen), a North Korean balloon flew south from the North Korean side to Yeoncheon area around 6:30pm on the 5th of this month. The balloon flew at such a low altitude that it could be identified by the South Korean military’s thermal image surveillance (TOD), and entered South Korean airspace. As a result of analysis, the South Korean military determined that the balloon was being used for weather observation and that there was no suspicion of espionage, so it only conducted follow-up surveillance and did not release it. The balloon continued to fly for several hours before releasing into the sky over the East Sea. A South Korean military official said, “North Korean weather balloons often fly south of the Military Supply Line (MDL), and South Korean weather balloons sometimes fly north.” “However, with the recent incident of a Chinese reconnaissance balloon, we are stepping up our anti-aircraft surveillance,” he said.
By the way, South Korean military authorities are analyzing that the Chinese reconnaissance balloon with a diameter of about 30 meters, which recently flew into US airspace, does not seem to have passed through South Korean airspace. South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense spokesman Jeong Ha-gyu said in a briefing on June 6, “As a result of comprehensively assessing the height of China’s reconnaissance balloon and South Korea’s anti-aircraft capabilities evaluated by the US side, it passed the Chinese balloon through. South Korea’s aerospace, they are deemed not to have done so.” “At the time when the Chinese balloon left China, no balloon-related tracks were detected by the ROK Air Force radar,” Jeong said.
Correspondent Roh Seok-jo
Chosun Ilbo Japanese version / Chosun Ilbo
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