STORY: China's foreign ministry said earlier that the flight of a Chinese "airship" over the United States was a force majeure accident, accusing U.S. politicians and media of taking advantage of the situation to discredit China.

China earlier expressed regret that an "airship" used for civilian meteorological and other scientific purposes had strayed into U.S. airspace.

Reuters was able to verify the location of the video by buildings that matched Google Street View imagery. Reuters could not independently confirm the images were of a spy balloon.