SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s military fired warning shots and shot down planes after North Korean drones entered the South’s airspace Monday, South Korean officials said, days after The North has launched two ballistic missiles in its most recent test activities.
Several North Korean drones crossed the inter-Korean border and were detected on the southern territory on Monday morning, South Korea’s Defense Ministry announced.
South Korea’s military issued warnings and fired warning shots before launching fighter jets and attacking helicopters to shoot down North Korean drones, the defense ministry said. It was not immediately known if the drones were shot down.
It is the first time North Korean drones have entered South Korean airspace since 2017, when a suspected North Korean drone was found crashed in South Korea. South Korean military officials said the drone photographed a US missile defense system in South Korea.
Lee Jung-hoon/Yonhap via AP, File
North Korea has previously disclosed its drone program, and South Korean officials have 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.
On Friday, North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles toward its eastern waters, according to South Korea’s chiefs of staff. The launch was seen as a protest against joint air exercises by South Korea and the United States that North Korea sees as a dress code. rehearsal for an invasion.
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 its rivals to make concessions such as lifting sanctions in negotiations future The North also recently said it had conducted major tests needed to acquire its first spy satellite and a more mobile ICBM capable of reaching the US mainland.
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