Some air traffic controllers in the western United States were heard ordering ground stops Monday around the same time North Korea fired what appeared to be a ballistic missile into its eastern sea.
It’s unclear if the two events were connected. The FAA did not respond to NBC News’ requests Monday and Tuesday for more information.
The ground stop, in which planes headed for a destination are halted from taking off, lasted about 7 minutes.
A San Diego International Airport spokeswoman said airport workers had been instructed by Air Traffic Control a little after 2:30 p.m. that there was a ground stop, but were told it was lifted around 5 to 7 minutes later.
A spokesman at Ontario International Airport, in in San Bernardino County, California, said that the stop “was initiated and rescinded within 3 minutes this afternoon so it never went into play.”
The apparent missile launch was North Korea’s second in a week, following leader Kim Jong Un’s calls to expand its nuclear weapons program in defiance of international opposition.
The launches follow a series of weapons tests in 2021 that underscored how North Korea is continuing to expand its military capabilities during deadlocked nuclear talks with the United States.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the launch was a “clear violation” of U.N. Security Council resolutions and demonstrated a more advanced capability than North Korea’s previous launch last week.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
