Tensions between North and South Korea continue. On Monday, Seoul accused Pyongyang of sending “several” drones to the inter-Korean border, forcing them to deploy fighter jets and fire warning shots to repel them. “Our military first detected a North Korean UAV in Gimpo airspace at 10:25 a.m., 2:15 a.m. French time, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff announced in a statement, before adding that “several” North Korean drones “invaded our airspace” in the border area near Gyeonggi province.
The incursion drew warning fire from Seoul, which also used airplanes and attack helicopters. One of them, a KA-1 fighter jet, then crashed in Hoengseong County further east, according to Yonhap News Agency.
A first in five years
Flights at Gimpo and Incheon International Airports near the capital have been suspended for about an hour at the request of the military, Yonhap News Agency said, citing an official at the South Korean ministry.
It is the first time North Korean drones have flown over South Korean airspace in five years. The incursion comes amid heightened tensions as Pyongyang conducted an unprecedented series of weapons tests this year.
North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan on Friday. The South Korean chiefs of staff claimed that their “army [maintenait] an attitude of full availability”. For several months, the United States and South Korea have been warning that Pyongyang will conduct its seventh nuclear test.