Chinese pair caught photographing South Korea military base twice in days

Two Chinese nationals, previously detained and released for photographing a military base in South Korea, were caught repeating the offence just two days later – marking the second consecutive month such an incident has occurred.

Police said the two were reported by US military personnel on Wednesday morning for photographing fighter jets near the US air force’s Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, some 65km (40 miles) southwest of Seoul.

They had been caught two days earlier taking unauthorised photos near the same airbase, according to JoongAng Daily, the English-language edition of the JoongAng Ilbo national newspaper.

Authorities had released the suspects on Monday evening, eight hours after their detention, after investigations concluded that there were no security risks.

“There were no signs of espionage in the photos,” a police official said at the time, according to JoongAng Daily. “They only captured fighter jets flying near the outer perimeter of the base, which doesn’t constitute a chargeable offence under the military base protection law.”

The same thing happened on Wednesday. After police determined that their photographs again posed no national security concerns, the two were released.