February 07, 2023 09:51
A North Korean balloon flew into the South Korean airspace and floated around in the sky for a few hours before being blown towards the East Sea on Sunday.
The military here kept close track of the incursion, which seems to echo a huge Chinese spy balloon that invaded U.S. airspace until it was shut down on Sunday.
A military spokesman said on Monday, "We didn't take any other action because we believe it was a North Korean weather balloon that didn't intrude on our airspace on purpose."
According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff here, the balloon crossed the border to Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province around 6:30 p.m. Sunday. It floated in at such a low altitude that it was detected by a thermal observation device.
"North Korean weather balloons often cross the military demarcation line, and so do our weather balloons," the spokesman added. "But we have increased surveillance given the recent flyover of a Chinese spy balloon in the U.S."
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