Status: 12/26/2022 12:49 PM
North Korean drones are said to have entered South Korean airspace for the first time in more than five years. North Korea has recently come under fire for its repeated missile tests.
North Korean drones are said to have entered the airspace of neighboring South Korea. This was announced by the South Korean General Staff. It would be the first such incident since 2017, when South Korea accused the leadership in Pyongyang of using drones to spy on a US missile defense system stationed in South Korea.
According to the General Staff, the current incident involves the use of drones. The South Korean army fired warning shots. The General Staff left open whether the drones were actually bombed and shot down.
South Korean news agency Yonhap later reported, citing the General Staff, that the military had fired about a hundred bullets. But no drone has ever been shot down. One of them returned to North Korea. The other four lost sight of the army. South Korea has also used helicopters and fighter jets. According to the Ministry of Transportation in the South Korean capital, Seoul, aircraft take-offs were suspended for about an hour at Incheon and Gimpo airports.
According to the General Staff, South Korean reconnaissance aircraft also flew north to take similar aerial photos of the drones. North Korean drones were small, about two meters long. No further details about the aircraft’s equipment were disclosed.
North Korea provokes missile tests
The North Korean side has not yet issued any statement regarding the alleged crossing of the so-called Military Demarcation Line.
North Korea has come under mounting international criticism for months. The reason is a large number of missile tests – the last of which took place in the country Two ballistic missiles were fired on Friday. UN resolutions prohibit North Korea, which has already conducted multiple nuclear tests, from testing ballistic missiles of any range. Despite this, North Korean ruler Kim Jong-un reaffirmed this at the end of November He wants to make his country the largest nuclear power in the world.
