The South Korean Ministry of National Defense said that the unidentified objects flying over the capital Seoul on December 30 were part of the country's solid-fuel rocket space test, easing concerns about the possibility of the appearance of planets, the Korea Herald reported.
The Ministry of National Defense said the test is the next step after a launch on March 30. The launch on December 30 was deployed to enhance South Korea's defense capabilities in areas such as independent, space-based surveillance and reconnaissance.
The Ministry of National Defense also apologized for not warning the public in advance about this event.
Previously, at around 6:00 p.m. on December 30, a strange bright spot was spotted in the sky across South Korea, including in Seoul and parts of Gangwon, Gyeonggi and Chungcheong Nam provinces.
The winding bright spot and unique color of the missile have led some observers to speculate that it was an unidentified flying object until the South Korean Ministry of National Defense made an official announcement.
South Korea first launched a solid-fuel rocket in March as part of a project to develop civil and military surveillance satellites.
This is the first test since South Korea and the US agreed in 2021 to end restrictions on the development of the country's ballistic and missile missile.
