SEOUL-- A suspected North Korean weather balloon entered South Korea's airspace earlier this week, prompting Seoul's military to strengthen its monitoring activities, according to a Seoul official Monday.

The balloon measuring around 2 meters in length was spotted flying over the South Korean territory on Sunday afternoon and appears to have left the South hours later, the official said on condition of anonymity.

The military did not take specific air defense steps, such as sending fighter jets to the scene, as it deemed the balloon as having no intention for spying activities.

The balloon's flight was detected amid tensions between the United States and China over the flight of a suspected Chinese spy balloon, which the U.S. shot down off the Carolina coast over the weekend.

Source: Yonhap News Agency