[Courtesy of Shogakukan-Shueisha Production]
A giant "Doraemon" balloon has strayed into South Korea's airspace at the height of territorial disputes in Northeast Asia, prompting a supersonic jet fighter to scramble for visual identification.
An F-15K pilot spotted an unidentified flying object in a fleeting encounter on January 12 when it was flying on patrol at a speed of 500 kilometers (310 miles) per hour and called for identification by a ground radar system, according to Yonhap News Agency.
As it can not be identified at the Master Control and Report Center (MCRC) at South Korea's main air base in the southern city of Osan, the pilot was ordered to fly back for eye identification, Yonhap said, citing an unnamed air force official.
The pilot completed his mission after reporting that it was a large Doraemon balloon, Yonhap said. It's not known why the story was disclosed belatedly.
Doraemon, a Japanese manga series, revolves around a blue robotic cat from the future sent back in time to help a hapless schoolboy and his family. It is one of the best-selling manga in the world, translated into over 30 languages.
At the time, the tactical air control center in Osan was on high vigilance following a rare trilateral standoff involving military planes from South Korea, Japan and China in disputed airspace off the southern island of Jeju.
The confrontation began after a fleet of Chinese bombers and other aircraft entered a disputed area near Ieodo, a submerged rock known as Ieodo in South Korea and Suyan Rock in China, for a strategic flight toward Japan.
The rock lies within the overlapping exclusive economic zones of the two countries. It has been the subject of a territorial row between Beijing and Seoul, though South Korea effectively controls it by building a research station and a helipad in 2003.
