South Korea suspends flight departures upon military request after North intrudes airspace

North Korean uncrewed air vehicles (UAV) on Monday intruded into South Korean airspace and flew over the western inter-Korean border area, which prompted the South Korean military to temporarily suspend departures from airports in Seoul, the Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed Monday afternoon.

The South Korean military scrambled Air Force fighter jets and attack helicopters after first identifying an apparent UAV that flew from North Korea and crossed south of the military demarcation line.

But one South Korean aircraft crashed in Hoengseong County, Gangwon Province, at 11.39 am, shortly after taking off from an air base in the city of Wonju, Gangwon Province, according to South Korea’s Air Force. The two pilots safely ejected from the aircraft.

“Our military has taken countermeasures after detecting unidentified flight trails — presumed to be North Korean unmanned air vehicles — starting from 10.25am local time on Monday in the area of Gyeonggi Province,” a JCS official, who wished to remain anonymous, commented as of 3 pm the same day.

Several North Korean uncrewed air vehicles were spotted flying over the large Incheon island Ganghwado and the cities of Gimpo and Paju, both in Gyeonggi Province, an official who wished to stay anonymous said. The drones flew over village areas.

As of 4.30pm, the South Korean military had not yet shot down the North Korean UAVs.

In the aftermath of the airspace intrusion, the Seoul Regional Aviation Administration under the auspices of South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport decided to temporarily suspend flights departing from Incheon Airport and Gimpo International Airport.

Agencies