A US reconnaissance aircraft flew over South Korea on Monday, air trackers showed, on an apparent surveillance mission over North Korea following its claimed test of an underwater nuclear attack drone, South Korean media reports.
The US Air Force RC-135W Rivet Joint aircraft was spotted in the skies over the city of Incheon, west of Seoul, and the surrounding provinces of Gyeonggi, Gangwon, and the east and west coasts, according to multiple aviation trackers.
The RC-135V was dispatched three days after North Korea said it tested a Haeil-5-23 underwater nuclear attack drone in the East Sea in response to a joint naval exercise involving South Korea, the US and Japan last week.
The US deployment of advanced spy planes is part of its regular intelligence-gathering operations, sources said, but the disclosure of the extensive flight paths could be aimed at putting pressure on the North. This is the third known flight this year after the previous two on 4 and 17 January, flights that were spotted only in domestic airspace.
South Korea and the US have stepped up monitoring for possible signs of provocations by Pyongyang, as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called for increased military preparedness against “unprecedented” acts of confrontation led by Washington.
