South Korea fires warning shots after North Korean drone incursion: Seouls military

SEOUL – South Korea on Monday accused North Korea of flying several drones across their border, prompting Seouls military to deploy warplanes and fire warning shots to ward them off.

Several North Korean unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) invaded our airspace in the border areas around Gyeonggi province, Seouls Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The South Korean military scrambled Air Force fighter jets and attack helicopters after first identifying an apparent UAV that flew from North Korea and crossed south of the military demarcation line.

But one South Korean aircraft crashed in Hoengseong County, Gangwon Province, at 11.39am, shortly after taking off from an air base in the city of Wonju, Gangwon Province, according to South Koreas Air Force.

The two pilots safely ejected from the aircraft and are now in the hospital.

Several North Korean UAVs were spotted flying over the large Incheon island Ganghwado and the cities of Gimpo and Paju, both in Gyeonggi Province, starting from 10.25am local time, said an official who wished to stay anonymous. The drones flew over village areas.

As at 4.30pm, the South Korean military had not yet shot down the North Korean UAVs.

In the aftermath of the airspace intrusion, the Seoul Regional Aviation Administration under the auspices of South Koreas Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport decided to temporarily suspend flights departing from Incheon Airport and Gimpo International Airport.

The suspension lasted for about an hour before flight departures resumed at around 2.10pm, a transport ministry official said.

The last time the South Korean military publicly identified a North Korean drone trespassing into South Korean airspace was in June 2017.

Then, the North Korean drone crashed in Inje County in Gangwon Province, with photos of the now-shuttered Lotte Skyhill golf course in Seongju County, North Gyeongsang Province, where the US-made Terminal High Altitude Area Defence anti-missile system has been deployed since that year.

In 2014, North Korean drones were found in areas near the inter-Korean border, including Paju and the small island Baengnyeong. Some North Korean drones had filmed the South Korean presidential office and military facilities. AFP, REUTERS, THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK More On This Topic South Korea scrambles jets after Chinese, Russian warplanes approach North Korea fires two short-range ballistic missiles: Seouls military