The South’s military confirmed on Thursday that a North Korean drone entered the northern portion of a no-fly zone encircling the South’s presidential office in Seoul last week.
The drone was one of five North Korean drones that entered the South on December 26, causing the South Korean military to scramble assault helicopters and fighter jets. The drones spent hours flying over the South, but the military was unable to shoot them down.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) of South Korea initially denied that one of the drones had broken a no-fly zone near the presidential office, but on Thursday they changed their minds and acknowledged that it had.
An examination of the military’s readiness posture in relation to the most recent intrusion, according to a JCS spokeswoman, led to a shift in the organization’s thinking.
The President Yoon Suk-office yeol’s is located in the Yongsan area, according to the military, however the North’s unmanned aircraft did not fly directly over that location.
Given the North’s increasing nuclear and missile threats, the border crossing has drawn criticism for South Korea’s air defenses.
Yoon has warned that if the North violates its airspace once more, he may think about cancelling a 2018 inter-Korean military accord.
