Amid heightened tensions as North Korea continues to send trash balloons into the South, a U.S. military reconnaissance aircraft has once again been deployed in the skies over the Korean Peninsula following its deployment on May 23.
According to military authorities and civilian aviation sources, on May 29, the U.S. Air Force’s RC-135U Combat Sent reconnaissance aircraft took off from the Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan. They flew over Seoul and the West Sea.
The RC-135U Combat Sent, of which the U.S. has only two, is equipped with high-performance advanced sensors on its fuselage, capable of detecting radar waves from enemy radar and signals from hundreds of kilometers away. The aircraft can also emit electronic waves from missile bases. It’s a strategic asset that can detect electronic waves during North Korean nuclear tests.
This reconnaissance aircraft was also deployed four days before North Korea launched its reconnaissance satellite on May 23. There is a possibility that North Korea sent trash balloons with additional military provocations due to the deployment.
According to the Korean Central News Agency, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un criticized the South Korean military’s response to the launch of the reconnaissance satellite as an “unforgivable mischief” in a speech during his visit to the Agency for Defense Development, which celebrated its 60th anniversary on the previous day. He emphasized the deployment as an “overwhelming and resolute action.”
