USA

Biden to Speak About 'Flying Objects'

FILE: U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House in Washington. Taken Feb. 10, 2023.

President Joe Biden plans on Thursday to make his most extensive remarks yet about a high-altitude Chinese balloon and three other objects that were shot down by U.S. fighter jets, two sources familiar with the discussions said on Wednesday.

The speech was expected to be on Thursday, according to sources.

The timing of his statement was unclear, but Biden, 80, is scheduled Thursday morning to get a physical examination at Walter Reed hospital.

Biden has been under pressure from lawmakers to speak more extensively about the spate of flyovers by unidentified objects, which have baffled many Americans.

Since an American fighter jet shot down the 200-foot Chinese balloon on Feb. 4, three other objects have been downed over hard-to-reach areas - two in the frozen North and one whose debris plummeted into Lake Huron.

He has made few public comments about the situation, leaving it up to White House officials to talk about it.

The United States has said the Chinese balloon was used for surveillance purposes, while Beijing called it a weather balloon.

Asked about Biden’s expected remarks a spokesman for China’s foreign ministry on Thursday once again referred to the downed balloon as an "unmanned civilian airship", and that its flight into United States air space was but an "isolated" incident.