US spy planes openly carry out reconnaissance flights over Korean Peninsula

A Lockheed U-2, an ultra-high altitude reconnaissance aircraft nicknamed "Dragon Lady," flies above Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, in 2017. (Yonhap News)

Expert says flights are a message to N. Korea to make decision on denuclearization negotiations

A Lockheed U-2, an ultra-high altitude reconnaissance aircraft nicknamed "Dragon Lady," flies above Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, in 2017. (Yonhap News)

With less than a month left before the end of the year, which North Korea has declared to be the deadline for its negotiations with the US, American spy planes have been carrying out a series of “public” operations in the skies above the Korean Peninsula. This has prompted curiosity about why the US would be openly carrying out reconnaissance flights that are supposed to be surreptitious.

According to Aircraft Spots, a civilian website that tracks aircraft, an American E-8C “Joint STARS” ground surveillance aircraft flew above the Korean Peninsula on Tuesday at the altitude of 8.8km. The same spy plane appeared above the Korean Peninsula on Nov. 27 as well. Later in the day, one of two RC-135U Combat Sent aircraft in the US Air Force was observed at 9km above the Seoul region. It’s unusual for the E-8C, which observes targets on the ground, and the RC-135U, which collects electronic transmissions, to both appear on the same day. Other spy planes that have flown above the Korean Peninsula in recent days are the RC-135W Rivet Joint on Dec. 2, the U-2S Dragon Lady on Nov. 3, and the EP-3E on Nov. 28.

The American reconnaissance flights are being held openly enough for their specific types to be identified by a civilian aircraft tracking website. That doesn’t fit with the secrecy with which such flights are typically conducted. In particular, a spy plane’s model can’t be identified by civilian observers unless the plane is transmitting a signal.

“The American spy planes appear to be deliberately transmitting an identification signal during their flights. It’s very unusual for there to be such a cluster of surveillance flights in which the planes openly reveal their model,” said a source in the South Korean military.

The American spy planes appear to be flying so openly in an attempt to monitor military activities in the North, such as additional missile launches, while also pressuring the North to exercise restraint. By showing that it can see exactly what’s happening in North Korea, the US is pushing the North to make the right choice.

“North Korea’s military movements are being carefully observed by South Korean and American joint assets. The US’ repeated surveillance flights appear to be aimed at bolstering their observation and at sending a message to the North that it needs to exercise restraint,” the military source said.

By Yoo Kang-moon, senior staff writer

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