South Korea mobilizes fighter jets and helicopters after North Korean drones – Asia – International

South Korea accused Pyongyang on Monday Her airspace was encroached by several drones, forcing her to stop the fighters in order to shoot them down.

“Several” North Korean drones “invaded our airspace” in the border area near Gyeonggi province, the South Korean General Staff said in a statement, insisting it was a “clear act of provocation”.

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The test drew alarm shots from the South Korean military, which sent fighter jets and helicopter gunships to shoot down the five drones. One of them entered the airspace near the capital Seoul.

In the incident, one of the planes, a KA-1 light fighter, crashed in the Hoengseong area, Yonhap news agency reported. The South Korean military did not say whether the drones were shot down or returned from the North Korean side.

“Seoul forces sent their own piloted and unmanned aircraft north of the inter-Korean demarcation line for “reconnaissance” and “operational” missions, such as taking pictures of enemy “military installations,” South Korean civil servants said.

“Our military will continue to resolutely respond to such North Korean provocations,” the Seoul General Staff stressed. This Monday This is the first time in five years that a North Korean drone has penetrated South Korean airspace.

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Yonhap reported that flights at Jimbo and Incheon international airports near Seoul were temporarily grounded for an hour at the request of South Korean civil servants.

Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, noted that this is the first time flights in South Korea have been grounded due to North Korean drones. However, according to him, their mission consisted of spying.

“Given the poor development of North Korean drones, it is unlikely that they will have the offensive capabilities of modern weapons,” the professor explained.

This incursion takes place in an environment of great tension, after a long series of weapons tests by Pyongyang in recent months, including the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile. North Korea’s use of drones is a growing concern for Seoul. Pyongyang denies its involvement and accuses its southern neighbor of fabricating evidence against it.

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AFP