South Korea’s military fired warning shots, fighter jets and flew surveillance assets across the heavily fortified border with North Korea on Monday after North Korean drones violated its airspace for the first time in five years, officials said.
South Korea’s military detected five North Korean drones crossing the border and one traveled to the northern part of South Korea’s capital region, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said .
The military responded by firing warning shots before launching fighter jets and attack helicopters to shoot down the North Korean drones. One of the planes, a KA-1 light attack aircraft, crashed during takeoff, but its two pilots ejected, according to the Ministry of Defense.
It was not immediately known if the drones were shot down.
South Korean drones likely flew in response
South Korea also sent surveillance assets near and across the border to photograph key military installations in North Korea as countermeasures against North Korean drone flights, the joint chiefs said. He did not elaborate, but some observers say South Korea likely flew unmanned drones inside North Korean territory.
“Our military will respond fully and decisively to this kind of North Korean provocation,” said Maj. Gen. Lee Seung-o, director of operations of South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters.
South Korea’s public confirmation of any reconnaissance activity inside North Korea is highly unusual and likely reflects the determination of the conservative government led by President Yoon Suk Yeol to get tough on North Korean provocations.
It is the first time North Korean drones have entered South Korean airspace since 2017, when a suspected North Korean drone 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 already touted its drone program, and South Korean officials said the North has about 300 drones. In 2014, several suspected North Korean drones were found south of the border. Experts said they were low-tech but could be considered a potential security threat.
Earlier this month, North Korea claimed to have conducted major tests needed to acquire its first spy satellite and a more mobile intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the North American continent. They were among the high-tech weapons systems that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has promised to introduce along with multiple warheads, underwater-launched nuclear missiles, nuclear-powered submarines and hypersonic missiles.
North Korea released low-resolution photos of South Korean cities seen from space, but some South Korean experts said the images were too raw for surveillance purposes. These assessments infuriated North Korea, with Kim’s powerful sister Kim Yo-jong issuing a series of mocking terms to insult unidentified South Korean experts and express her anger.
Recent missile launch
Last Friday, North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles toward its eastern waters, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. The launch was seen as a protest over joint air drills between South Korea and the US that North Korea views as an invasion rehearsal.
North Korea has conducted an unprecedented number of missile tests this year in what some experts call an attempt to improve its weapons and pressure rivals to make concessions such as lifting sanctions in future negotiations. The North also recently claimed to have carried out major tests needed to acquire its first spy satellite and a more mobile intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the North American continent.