South Korea says it dispatched fighter jets and attack helicopters, firing warning shots, after North Korean drones “violated” its airspace.
The country’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said several unmanned North Korean drones crossed the border and were detected in South Korean territory on Monday.
While working to counter drones, a South Korean KA-1 light attack plane crashed shortly after leaving its base in the eastern Wonju region, a defense ministry official said. .
Its two pilots were able to escape before the crash and are now in hospital, the official added.
South Korea’s transport ministry said previous flights from its Incheon and Gimpo airports had been suspended at the request of the military.
According to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency, the country tracked the drones crossing into North Korea on the so-called Military Demarcation Line – the land border surrounded by a demilitarized zone – between the two countries.
