WASHINGTON ¨C A top Pentagon official said Friday that China¡¯s supreme leader was likely unaware of the Chinese spy balloon that traversed the United States until the controversy erupted, underscoring a split between the country¡¯s top civilian and military leadership.
The official, Colin H. Kahl, the undersecretary of defense for policy, said President Xi Jinping of China probably knew about his country¡¯s broader high-altitude surveillance balloon program, but not the specific spy balloon until it captured widespread attention by floating over the United States.
¡°I suspect he asked his military about it, and his military started to backpedal and to make excuses,¡± Kahl said at a meeting with The New York Times editorial board in New York.
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