North Korean Drones Cross into South Korean Airspace, One Flies to Seoul

By Staff, Agencies

North Korea drones infiltrated South Korea as far as Seoul on Monday, the South Korean Defense Ministry stated.

A number of drones believed to belong to North Korea purportedly trespassed across the inter-Korean border without permission, prompting Seoul to deploy fighter jets, choppers and other assets to shoot them down.

According to the South Korean military, the drones crossed the Military Demarcation Line separating the two Koreas and were spotted in areas in Gimpo, Ganghwa Island and Paju. One of the South Korean fighter jets reportedly crashed, although the crew survived.

This resulted in the temporary suspension of civilian flights at Incheon and Gipmho airports from 07:08 to 08:10 GMT.

South Korea last reported seeing North Korean drones south of the inter-Korean border in 2014 and 2017.

Lately, NK has conducted a range of missile tests. This year alone, Pyongyang launched ballistic missiles 38 times.

Some South Korean officials believe that these tests were aimed at ousting US forces from the Korean peninsula. Chung Jin-suk, leader of South Korea's ruling party, stated that Pyongyang plans to drive out US forces "through nuclear warheads and medium-range and intermediate-range ballistic missiles."