The United States is close to deploying an advanced unmanned spy plane

The United States is close to deploying an advanced unmanned spy plane over South Korea which could provide a much more detailed view of North Korea’s military activities, a report said.

The US military newspaper Stars and Stripes said Washington is negotiating with Seoul to fly a Global Hawk drone near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas.

Another air force officer, Lt. Col. David Gerhardt, was quoted as saying in the article published Monday that the Global Hawk “will likely fly over land in Korea as soon as agreements have been solidified to do that”.

South Korean defense ministry spokesmen could not immediately be reached for comment.

The United States, which bases 28,500 troops in the South, already keeps watch over the North with satellites and piloted U-2 spy planes.

The Global Hawk can stay in the air longer, flying at an altitude of about 20 kilometres (12 miles) for up to 40 hours, with a line of sight to targets some 550 kilometres away.

The Hawks carry long-range and infrared cameras, radar and listening devices that can intercept foreign military signals.

Source AP