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North Korea
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South Korea launches jets, fires shots after drones from North violate airspace

  • South Korea fired shots, launched jets to shoot down drones from the North, but it was not immediately known if the drones were shot down
  • This came after North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missile launches on Friday

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People watch the news at a station in Seoul on December 26, 2022. According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, North Korea’s multiple drones invade South Korean airspace. Photo: EPA-EFE
Associated Press
South Korea’s military fired warning shots, scrambled 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 drones from North Korea crossing the border, and one travelled as far as the northern part of the South Korean capital region, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

The military responded by firing warning shots and launching fighter jets and attack helicopters to shoot down the North Korean drones. The attack helicopters fired a combined 100 rounds but it was not immediately known if the North Korean drones were shot down. There were no immediate reports of civilian damage on the ground in South Korea, according to the Defence Ministry.
A suspected North Korean drone is viewed at the Defense Ministry in Seoul on June 21, 2017. South Korea’s military fired warning shots and scrambled aircraft after North Korean drones entered the South’s airspace on December 26, 2022, South Korean officials said, days after the North launched two ballistic missiles in its latest testing activities. Photo: AP
A suspected North Korean drone is viewed at the Defense Ministry in Seoul on June 21, 2017. South Korea’s military fired warning shots and scrambled aircraft after North Korean drones entered the South’s airspace on December 26, 2022, South Korean officials said, days after the North launched two ballistic missiles in its latest testing activities. Photo: AP

One of the aircraft, a KA-1 light attack plane, crashed during takeoff but its two pilots both ejected safely, defence officials said. They said they also requested civilian airports in and near Seoul to halt takeoffs temporarily.

South Korea also sent surveillance assets near and across the border to photograph key military facilities in North Korea as corresponding measures against the North Korean drone flights, the Joint Chiefs said. It did not elaborate, but some observers say that South Korea likely flew unmanned drones inside North Korean territory.

“Our military will thoroughly and resolutely respond to this kind of North Korean provocation,” Major Gen. Lee Seung-o, director of operations at the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters.

South Korea’s public confirmation of any reconnaissance activities inside North Korea is highly unusual and likely reflects a resolve by the conservative government led by President Yoon Suk-yeol to get tough on North Korean provocations. North Korea could respond with more fiery rhetoric or weapons tests or other provocation, some observers say.
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