U.S. Helicopter Almost Crossed the Border and Entered North Korea

It was recently revealed that a helicopter of the U.S. Forces in Korea almost crossed the border and entered North Korea, but it was stopped by a Korean military guard. According to military sources on January 11, a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter made a flight in Hwacheon-gun, Gangwon Province at noon on January 5 well beyond the No Fly Line (NFL). It was an urgent situation, if the helicopter flew one or two more minutes north, it would have crossed the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) and entered the shooting range of anti-aircraft missiles.

At that moment, Sergeant Han Gyung-taek and Private Kim Jong-hoon, who were on guard at General Outpost (GOP) of the Seventh Division, reported the emergency to the upper unit and shot signal flares in front of the helicopter, and the U.S. helicopter immediately turned its nose southward.

Sang-Ho Yun ysh1005@donga.com