Observation of an Unidentified Flying Object — North Korea, 9 June 1953

On the night of June 9, 1953, at approximately 2345 hours, forward observers from Battery B of the 39th Field Artillery Battalion reported an unidentified flying object over North Korea, specifically at UTM grid coordinates CT432458. The observers, who were using an artillery range finder, tracked the object for approximately four minutes. They described the object as a spherical, fluorescent gray or silver entity that exhibited erratic flight patterns, including circling the area and performing maneuvers that involved decelerating to a near stop before accelerating again. The object was observed at an estimated altitude of 15,000 feet on an easterly heading before it was last seen traveling at a high rate of speed toward the northwest. Weather conditions at the time were reported as CAVU (Ceiling and Visibility Unlimited). Captain Elmer J. Schott, the Detachment Commander, noted that insufficient information was available to definitively identify the object, stating that any conclusions would be purely conjectural. However, the D/I FEAF (Directorate of Intelligence, Far East Air Forces) provided a subsequent comment noting that many similar sightings in the CT and DT grid areas had been identified as balloons. Consequently, the official assessment suggested that the object was likely a lighted balloon launched by enemy front-line troops, and no further investigation was pursued.