New details have emerged in relation to the current radar row between South Korea and Japan, with the Korea coast guard pointing to its own surveillance radar.
A military source confirmed Friday that a Korean coast guard ship operated its own radar at the scene in question last month, possibly confusing a Japanese aircraft that it was locked in a warship's fire-control system.
Japan has protested against South Korea, claiming that the Gwanggaeto the Great destroyer aimed its weapon's radar at its plane when the Navy and the coast guards rescued a distressed fishing boat in the East Sea last December.
While noting that a surveillance radar was also activated by a smaller coast guard vessel that day, the source said exact details can be confirmed only if Japan discloses its radio frequency data.
The possibility of such a mix-up had been raised by military experts when the radar dispute first emerged.
The confirmation comes as the two countries met in Singapore earlier this week to discuss the radar incident but failed to narrow their differences.
Seoul has rejected Tokyo's claim while also blaming Japan for flying its aircraft so low that the Korean naval ship could have been threatened.