South Korea scrambles jets, fires warning shots at trespassing North Korean drones

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – South Korea’s military on Monday scrambled jets and fired warning shots after drones from North Korea crossed the border.

An official with South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said its forces “detected multiple ‘unidentified objects,’ presumed to be unmanned aerial vehicles, in border areas of Gyeonggi province from 10:25 a.m. (0125GMT),” according to a report by Yonhap News Agency.

The drones crossed the Military Demarcation Line, which separates the two Koreas, and were spotted flying in areas in Gimpo, Ganghwa Island and Paju, the report said.

South Korean forces “issued warning messages, fired warning shots, and scrambled fighters, attack helicopters and other warplanes to remove them, while it remains unconfirmed whether the vehicles carry any weapons,” the official was quoted as saying.

“An operation is still ongoing against the vehicles,” he added.

These included a KA-1 light attack aircraft that crashed in Hoengseong, about 140 kilometers (86 miles) east of the capital Seoul, “for an unknown reason,” Yonhap reported.

Both pilots of the aircraft, which had taken off from a base in the city of Wonju, escaped unhurt.

​​​​​​​The situation led to suspension of flights at the Gimpo and Incheon international airports.

The Transport Ministry confirmed it “temporarily suspended” flights at the airports on a JCS request.

Around 20 flights at Gimpo and 10 at Incheon were affected by the suspension, Yonhap reported.