SEOUL: South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said on Tuesday he would advance the creation of a military unit specializing in drones, criticising the military response to a border intrusion by North Korean drones.
Five North Korean drones crossed into South Korea on Monday, prompting Seoul to scramble fighter jets and attack helicopters, and try to shoot them down, in the first such intrusion since 2017.
The incident rekindled questions about South Korea’s air defences at a time when it is trying to rein in the North’s evolving nuclear and missile threats.
The military fired warning shots and some 100 rounds from a helicopter equipped with a machine gun, but failed to bring down any of the drones while they flew over several South Korean cities, including the capital, Seoul, for about five hours. –Agencies
