Seoul takes unspecified 'measures' after North Korean balloon briefly spotted over South Korea

The "spy balloon" conundrum has gripped the world, and the politics over it is far from over. Now, South Korea has claimed to have tracked a North Korean balloon over its territory. The development comes after a suspected Chinese spy balloon caused major geopolitical controversy after it was spotted in the airspace of the United States.

The South Korean military on Monday (February 6) said it had tracked the balloon, however, it did not pose a threat.

The Ministry of Defense said in a statement that the balloon briefly entered South Korean airspace on Sunday. The military further added that they took unspecified "measures".

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Citing a high-level military source, South Korean broadcaster KBS reported that the balloon was detected by a front-line unit through a thermal observation device at around 6:30pm (local time) on Sunday in Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province, a region near the inter-Korean border.

In a report by NK News, it was mentioned that the South Korean military identified that it was a weather balloon and that it flew at a low altitude.

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On Sunday,a US fighter jet downed a balloon which was from China and is now working to recover debris. China had said that it was a civilian "airship" used for research, mainly meteorological purposes.

Beijing also weighed in on America's decision to shoot it down, saying on Monday that its balloon's "unintended entry" tested "US sincerity in improving and stabilising China-USrelations and its way of handling crises".

China's foreign ministry also said that the way the US reacted is "unacceptable" and an "overreaction", despite Beijing clarifying that the balloon had veered off course.

The entire balloon saga has dealt a severe blow to already strained US-Chinese relations, even the United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken had to put off his crucial visit to Beijing after the discovery of an alleged Chinese spy balloon in US airspace.

(With inputs from agencies)

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