North Korean drones ‘violating airspace’ – South Korea defends fighter jets, fires warning shots in response | world News

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South Korea said it scrambled fighter jets and attack helicopters and fired warning shots after North Korean drones “violated” its airspace.

The country’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, a grouping of the chiefs of each major branch of the armed forces, said several North Korean drones crossed the border and were spotted in the south’s territory on Monday.

This is the first time the devices have entered South Korean airspace since 2017, when a suspected drone was found to have crashed in the country.

A South Korean KA-1 light attack aircraft crashed during counter-drone work shortly after it left its base in the country’s eastern Wonju district, a Defense Ministry official said.

Its two pilots managed to escape before the crash and were taken to hospital.

According to the South’s “Yonhap” news agency, the country has tracked the drones crossing from North Korea across what is known as the Military Demarcation Line – the land border surrounded by a demilitarized zone – between the two countries.

A North Korean drone also briefly flew over the southern capital, Seoul, according to the South Korean news agency NEWS1.

The provocation is the latest of many – but a full nuclear weapons test is now expected

This provocation from North Korea is just the latest in a series of incidents that have seen tensions on the Korean Peninsula escalate to their highest levels in several years.

The year 2022 has seen more missile launches by the isolated country than at any other time since its leader, Kim Jong Un, came to power in 2011.

One in November crossed the unofficial sea border between the two countries and landed closer to the South Korean coast than ever before, and another crossed over Japan.

North Korea responds to what it considers a threat and provocation to the joint military exercises between South Korea and its ally the United States.

It is worth noting that South Korea has a relatively new president who ran the election on the premise of taking a harder line against North Korea.

Yun Sok-yul made North Korea’s demilitarization a key factor in the negotiations, which in practice meant that they had largely collapsed.

Many worry about what this escalation will lead to, with a full nuclear weapons test now expected.

It will be the first such test since 2017, and in the context of escalating actions and words, it’s hard to see how South Korea won’t have to retaliate in some way.

Read more: North Korea ‘tests a nuclear weapon’

The country’s transportation ministry said that flights departing from Incheon and Gimpo airports had been suspended earlier at the request of the military.

North Korea has previously promoted its drone program, and South Korean officials have said North Korea has about 300 drones.

In 2014, several suspected North Korean drones were found south of the border, with experts describing them as low-tech but still a potential security threat.

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2:14 North Korea ‘tests a nuclear weapon’

The accident comes days after the launch of the missile

The incident on Boxing Day comes just days after 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 against joint air exercises by South Korea and the United States, which North Korea sees as a rehearsal for invasion.

Image: Suspected North Korean drone pictured in 2017. Pic: AP

This year, North Korea has conducted an unprecedented number of missile tests in what some experts describe as an attempt to improve its weapons and pressure its rivals to make concessions, such as lifting sanctions, in future negotiations.

Recently, North Korea also claimed to have conducted major tests required to get the first spy satellite and missile capable of reaching the United States.

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