The South Korean military fired warning shots and towed planes after North Korean drones entered its airspace for the first time in five years on Monday, the Associated Press reported. This comes days after North Korea launched two test ballistic missiles.
South Korea’s Defense Ministry said several North Korean drones were detected on its territory after crossing the inter-Korean border on Monday morning, prompting broadcast warnings from the South’s military. South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported that the drones were seen flying in Gimpo, Ganghwa Island and Paju, prompting a temporary suspension of civilian flights.
South Korea fired warning shots before the country launched fighter jets and attack helicopters to shoot down the drones. It was not immediately clear if the drones were shot down or not.
A KA-1 light attack aircraft was also deployed in the response, but it crashed in Hoengseong county, about 140 kilometers east of Seoul, at 11:39 a.m., according to Yonhap News Agency. Both pilots escaped safely.
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The flags of North Korea, rear, and South Korea, front, flutter in the wind, as shown at the border area between the two Koreas in Paju, South Korea.
(Im Byung-shik/Yonhap via AP)
Monday’s move marked the first time North Korean drones had entered South Korean airspace since 2017, when a drone believed to belong to the North was found to have crashed in South Korea. South Korean military officials said at the time that the drone photographed a US missile defense system in South Korea.
North Korea has boasted about its strong drone program, and South Korean officials have confirmed that the country has around 300 drones.
In 2014, several suspected North Korean drones were found south of the border, posing a potential security threat despite experts saying they were “low-tech.”
FILE – A suspected North Korean drone is seen at the Defense Ministry in Seoul, South Korea, June 21, 2017. South Korea said Monday, Dec. 26, 2022, that it fired warning shots after North Korean drones violated the southern airspace.
(Lee Jung-hoon/Yonhap via AP)
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Last Friday, North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into its eastern waters in protest of joint South Korean-US air exercises. The country recently said it views the drills as an “invasion rehearsal.”
In 2022, North Korea conducted an “unprecedented number” of missile tests in what experts believe is an attempt to improve weapons and put pressure on rivals in future negotiations.
This photo provided by the North Korean government shows a test of a rocket with the test satellite at the Sohae Satellite Launch Field in North Korea on Sunday, December 18, 2022.
(Korea Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
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In recent weeks, North Korea also claimed to have carried out major tests needed to acquire its first spy satellite and a more mobile ICBM capable of reaching the continental United States.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
