The South Korean military has claimed that five drones from Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea) have entered its airspace, reported Reuters.
The report said that this incident took place on 26 December and one of the five DPRK’s drones was claimed to have entered South Korea’s capital city Seoul.
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However, the officials claimed that the remaining four drones were seen flying near the west coast.
In response to the latest incursion, South Korean military said that fighter jets and attack helicopters were deployed to shoot down the DPRK’s drones.
Apart from combat air assets, a surveillance aircraft was also sent in North Korea’s airspace to capture the images of their military installations, the report said.
The report cited South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) official Lee Seung-o as saying: “This is a clear act of provocation by the North Korea violating our airspace.”
Meanwhile, the South Korea’s Ministry of Defence reported that one of its assets, KA-1 light attack aircraft, deployed in response of the latest DPRK’s incursion crashed soon after taking off from the air base in Wonju.
A Yonhap News Agency’s report claimed that the aircraft’s pilots, however, managed to escape before the jet crashed and are currently undergoing treatment.
After the crash, the aircraft fell around 140km east of Seoul, near Hoengseong County region.
