Ongoing 'Kim Jong-un Health Rumors'... US Reconnaissance Aircraft Flies Over Korean Peninsula Again (Update)

US RC-135W Flies Over Gwangju and Incheon Skies on the 1st

North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un embroiled in health rumors (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] Amid ongoing rumors about North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un's health issues, the U.S. RC-135W (Rivet Joint) reconnaissance aircraft once again flew over South Korean airspace.

According to the civilian flight tracking site 'Aircraft Spot' on the 1st, the U.S. Air Force reconnaissance aircraft RC-135W flew over Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, and Incheon on that day. The RC-135W is the U.S. Air Force's main signals intelligence reconnaissance aircraft, equipped with devices that detect signals emitted from ground remote telemetry equipment before missile launches and analyze warhead trajectories.

The deployment of the U.S. military's RC-135W appears to be a measure to monitor North Korean developments following recent rumors about Kim Jong-un's health. Around the end of last month, following reports of Kim's health issues, U.S. reconnaissance and patrol aircraft have consecutively flown over the Korean Peninsula.

Meanwhile, Aircraft Spot reported that two U.S. strategic bombers B-1B Lancers flew from the U.S. mainland, passing near Okinawa, Japan, over the East China Sea, and then to Guam. The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command stated that on the 30th of last month, two B-1Bs flew a 32-hour round trip from Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota to the airspace over the South China Sea.

This operational flight demonstrates the U.S. Air Force's dynamic power projection concept under the "Bomber Presence" strategy, which flexibly deploys bombers according to the situation. The Bomber Presence strategy is carried out by the Bomber Task Force (BTF).

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