U.S. Air Forces send two high-altitude recon planes over DMZ

Following the launch of Inter-range Ballistic Missiles by North Korea, the U.S. Air Forces are increasing their assets dedicated to monitoring North Korean military by scrambling two U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft over the skies of the DMZ.

South Korea's intensifying surveillance was confirmed by this newspaper during its exclusive coverage on last Friday on the 5th Reconnaissance Squadron located at the Osan Air Base in the city of Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, which operates the U-2 high-altitude recon aircraft. On the day when Dong-A Ilbo reporters visited the squadron as the first local newspaper to do so, each of the two U-2 aircraft took off the base with a one-hour interval and flew towards the DMZ. "The North is making us very busy, continuing to provoke South Korea with its fourth nuclear test and missile launches starting from early this year," said a military official.

The 5th Reconnaissance Squadron, the operator of the U-2 recon aircraft, is playing a key role in monitoring North Korea. The high-resolution image and signal intelligence gathered by the reconnaissance aircraft serve as crucial data for both South Korean and the U.S. military authorities to detect the signs of provocations from the North Korean military.

It has been reported that the aircraft are equipped with ultra-high resolution, electro-optical framing cameras capable of detecting the movement of North Korean soldiers from more than 20 kilometers above the ground level. The squadron provided a full disclosure of the entire process in which the pilot wore his special aviation suit and boarded the aircraft, with the U-2 aircraft moved to the airstrip before taking off for mission. This journalist witnessed the whole process in the "chase car," a high-speed assist vehicle designed to guide the landings and take-offs of the recon aircraft.

평택=윤상호군사전문기자 ysh1005@donga.com