South Korean authorities confirmed Wednesday that the country’s president, Yooon Suk Yeol, ordered the dispatch of several drones in response to the entry into its airspace of several aircraft from North Korea.
Yoon reportedly instructed his cabinet to send «two or three drones» across the border if the northern neighbor sent one, Yonhap news agency reported.
The president also reportedly ordered to shoot down North Korean drones if necessary, warning of the «tense situation» at the presidential office.
«When the first one fell, the president instructed us to immediately take appropriate measures against North Korea, saying that we also have drones,» an unnamed official said, in statements reported by the agency.
«He ordered us to send two or three in response to one from North Korea. He gave the order that we should shoot it down if necessary and take corresponding measures as much as possible,» an anonymous official has explained.
He also said an emergency security meeting was convened Monday to assess Pyongyang’s «provocative situation» and discuss «future countermeasures and responses.»
The South Korean Army General Staff said Monday that Seoul detected around 10:25 a.m. local time multiple «unidentified objects» in areas of Gyeonggi Province, adding that the devices crossed the Military Demarcation Line.
It noted that they were located in Gimpo, Ganghwa and Paju, causing a temporary suspension of civilian flights during military operations to shoot them down, according to the South Korean agency.
The event was the first of its kind since 2017, although between 2014 and 2017 Seoul denounced numerous drone overflight operations by North Korea and warned of the military threat posed by these devices, both to perpetrate attacks and in espionage operations.
The incident took place amid heightened tensions on the Korean peninsula following Pyongyang’s latest ballistic missile firings, including two short-range missiles launched during the day on Friday.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
