U.S. flies surveillance aircraft over S. Korea amid tensions

The United States flew a surveillance aircraft over South Korea on Tuesday, an aviation tracker said, amid tensions on the Korean Peninsula over possible provocations by North Korea.

An RC-135W Rivet Joint of the U.S. Air Force was spotted in the skies above South Korea at 31,000 feet, Aircraft Spots tweeted. This type of aircraft was detected here three days in a row earlier this month.

On Monday, the U.S. Navy's EP-3E also flew over South Korea, according to the aviation tracker.

They were believed to have carried out operations monitoring North Korea after the communist country has warned of a "new strategic weapon" in the near future and a "shocking actual action" in protest over the stalled denuclearization negotiations with the U.S.

Experts say the "strategic weapon" may mean an advanced type of its intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) or a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM).